A Daring Challenger
by devonm0
Summary: Lethe of Gallia has gone missing, and Ike and the Greil Mercenaries have taken it upon themselves to see her safely home. There is another person who has put himself on that same mission, something unknown to everyone. Rated T but subject to change.
1. Troubling News

Chapter 1: Troubling News

At the west coast of Gallia, a lone warrior trekked the plains, eyes scanning, looking for something.

"Why would his majesty's shadow send me here? There's nothing here." As she turned to head back she bumped into a very muscular Beorc. The laguz warrior had grown to trust Beorc, to a point. Even so, this one had ill will written all over. She started to transform, expecting a fight, but this Beorc had other plans. Pulling a strange mechanism from a pocket, he touched the transforming cat with it, and her transformation was cancelled.

"What? What happened? You!" The warrior lunged at the Beorc, figuring she could take him even without transforming. With a soft smile, the muscled man said,

"The worst move you could have possibly made, I'm afraid." And at that point, as if on cue, an arrow whizzed over the man's shoulder, sticking painfully into the untransformed cat's shoulder. She simply made another attack attempt, resulting in arrow's piercing her legs. Where were the arrows coming from? So strange. Then a puff of smoke revealed an archer, who looked as if he had skidded to a stop. 'So fast,' thought the warrior. 'I couldn't even see any sign. That guy, he's better than...Shinon.' The marksman readied to fire once more upon the now frightened cat, but the muscled man ordered a stand-down. He then looked at the warrior, reaching a hand out slowly. The cat found herself cringing at the thought of what he might do to her, and was thus stunned when he just stroked her cheek.

"Calm yourself, Lethe. Gallia is not our target, neither is its people." Said the muscled man.

"Then why?" Asked Lethe The man looked past the archer to someone in fine white robes.

"Erio, heal her." Without hesitation, the saint he spoke to approached Lethe, pulling out a staff. He started chanting, and though the wounds healed, the arrows stayed in her legs and shoulder. Lethe growled when she found that to be so, and asked,

"What's the meaning of this?!"

"To make sure you don't get away." Said the archer in a sinister voice. This worried Lethe, and seeing this, the muscled man punched the archer in the face, sending him reeling.

"Forgive him, and me as well. I happen to have business with a friend of yours, one whom I know for a fact gainss strength from emotion, moreso than anyone I know. I want to fight that power, but it cannot be willingly drawn upon. I needed a way to draw out his anger, so that I may test myself." Said the man. Lethe spit in the man's face, and yelled,

"That's what this is about? A test of strength? You disgust me!" The archer suddenly appeared in front of Lethe, arrow pulled and held to her neck.

"You would do well to watch yourself, unless you're just that anxious to die!" To this, the muscled man picked up the archer by the head, looked him in the eyes, and tossed him behind him.

"You watch yourself, you are no longer allowed to speak to Lethe! If I ever find you in so much as the same room as her when we return to the base, you'll find your head on my mantle before you can say ouch!"

'Base...' Thought Lethe.

"If I may ask, are you a band of mercenaries?" She asked. Turning to Lethe, the muscle man smiled, revealing teeth whiter than she expected to see.

"Yes, we are. I am the leader, named Sotile. My weapon of choice is this magnificent sword." He pulled a familiar sword off of his back.

"This is Gurugant." Lethe was speechless. She knew that sword.

"Gurugant...Ashnard's sword, rumored to be unmatched."

"Ahhh, so you know it. Well, let it be known that the rumors are true. Anyway, way behind me is the archer of my group. He is cold, to say the very least. His name is Zet." The archer stepped forward, and said,

"I take pride in my bow, Liawun, as I do my speed." Sotile looked to Erio, who stepped forward.

"This is Erio, my saint, the best there is." Erio bowed graciously, and Lethe sighed, saying,

"I appreciate the introduction, but before we continue, if you intend to take me somewhere, please do it so I can get these arrows out." Sotile stopped suddenly, and said,

"Yeah, sure." As they helped Lethe into a boat, she asked,

"So who are you after?"

"The Greil Mercenaries." Said Sotile. Lethe should have known, and she now felt stupid for not knowing.

"So I'm...bait?" She asked, sounding irritated.

"Far from it. You will be our guest until Ike and his merry band arrives. You will be our guest, and treated like one once we arrive." Said Sotile as they set sail.

Meanwhile...

The Greil Mercenaries remain bound to their loyalties, even following the struggle at the Tower of Guidance. Ike continues to follow in his father's footsteps as the head of the Greil Mercenaries, though by this time, he has set an example for himself to follow. No longer is he merely his father's shadow. One morning, while the mercenaries are still at the fort, Shinon picks up on a new, yet familiar presence. He was just waking up, but this finding gives him the incentive to quickly prepare for a fight, just to be on the safe side. He nocks an arrow in his longbow, and stealthily creeps around a corner to look outside. Seeing nothing puzzles him, but he comes to the hasty conclusion that whoever it was was scared off by the reputation of those who reside in this fort. As he walks outside with a smile on his face, he is tackled by someone who is apparently female, whoever she is. Then comes the aggravating feature, which slips down between his eyes. Growling upon the sight, Shinon hastens to his feet, knocking the girl on her butt. The marksman turns to the fallen female, his free hand clenched in a tight fist and his right eye twitching in an aggitated manner.

"LYRE!!" Shinon's scream wakes Gatrie, if for no reason other than the name that was uttered. The knight in blue armor sighs before saying,

"Ahhhh, Lyre. So it seems that fate has led you to me once again. Oh, my pretty kitty, you shall wait no longer." His rambling about love and his supposed girlfriend, wakes Ike, who is immediately irritated, which he proved by saying,

"You know, if you like her that much, tell her, not me. It's a lot more effective, trust me-" And with that Ike knew he had said too much. Gatrie was now eyeing his leader strangely.

"Oh really now? I can trust you on that? Who is it? Who did you confess love to? Tell me!"

"N-n-no one I swear!" Stammered Ike. "Now, I think Lyre must be here for more of a reason than just to see you, ya big lug. She never crosses the border alone. Let's go find out why she's here." After slight pondrance, Gatrie agreed. He and Ike joined Shinon and Lyre, who had for once been engaged in friendly conversation, in the meeting hall. Ike approached the conversing pair, resulting in a look from Shinon.

"What?" Asked Ike, having done nothing wrong as far as he was aware.

"You know I don't like being left out of a decent bit of information." Said Shinon; a vague description of what the look was for. This answer just confused Ike even more.

"Why didn't you ever tell me that talking with a Laguz could be so interesting."

"Be-cause I didn't think it would be interesting to YOU." Retorted Ike, surprisingly to Shinon's agreement.

"You're right, or at least I would have thought you were right. But enough about that, now to business. We have enough mercenaries here to talk problem. We can talk strategy later. So Lyre, what exactly happened. You told me that your sister has gone missing. Do you know any details?" Lyre nodded, tears starting to trickle. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a slip of parchment. Upon request, it was given to Ike, who recognized it for what it was almost immediately. There was one name, however, that he didn't understand.

"Lyre, where is this name referring to." Asked Ike.

"That's the name of a country." Muttered Lyre. Ike knew this already, and so he persisted,

"Okay, the name of a country where? I'm not familiar with it." Shinon looked at the parchment, then to Ike and said,

"You're not familiar with...are you joking? You must be joking." Ike sighed, and said,

"I figured that, considering the gravity of the situation, you would know that I'm serious."

"Korriande, I've heard of it, but I always thought it was just a myth with no true significance. Now, what of the rest of this document? Is this what I think it is?" Asked Shinon. Ike chuckled before speaking,

"Well, I don't know what goes through your head at times like these, but this is a receipt, which considering the circumstances, can only mean one thing." As Ike finished saying that, Lyre punched him in the face knocking him to the ground. Ike rubbed his face painfully, then looked at Lyre, agitated and asked,

"What was that for?!"

"Lethe promised me this kind of thing would never happen again, and she said that General Ike was the reason for that change! If that really is the case, why has this happened?!" Asked Lyre, in somewhat of a fury.

"I don't know, but fighting each other isn't going to get your sister back!" Yelled Ike. Shinon sighed, and stood before saying,

"Ike, chill out, Lyre..." He looked from Lyre to Gatrie and smirked before continuing, "play with Gatrie or something." At that single comment, Ike fell over anime-style while Lyre punched Shinon's head, Gatrie now continuing his obsessive fantasizing over Lyre.

"That's enough lover boy, I'm trying to think." Said Shinon, having not even felt Lyre's punch. This aggravated the Laguz, and she transformed, lunging at the marksman, who dodged, simply saying,

"Down kitty." Shinon shook his head in an annoyed manner, and finally yelled,

"I'm trying to THINK!"

"Shut up Shinon." Said an annoyed Soren, who obviously just woke up. Walking forward, he sat down in a chair, and without any sort of contemplation said,

"You are so slow in the head. It's obvious why it happened, and it's not Ike's fault. Apparently this, Korriande place, it has not subjected itself to any sort of emancipation. In other words, it's the kind of nation where Beorc and Laguz unfortunately do not see eye to eye. To the Beorc there, Laguz are tools, not friends or even companions. I've heard a great deal about this place, including some things you do not want to know. Needless to say they made me retch."

"Soren, enough! Lyre's suffering enough already, she doesn't need to hear this!" Yelled Ike, in obvious annoyance. Soren just stopped, sighed, and said,

"Right, sorry Ike." By this time Lyre was clinging securely to Shinon as she weeped, not wanting to be anywhere near Gatrie at this point. Shinon somehow made Lyre feel secure, even though this was the same man who had insulted her so heartlessly some time ago. Ike smiled at the sight, before bearing a more serious expression as he asked,

"What about Mordecai? Is he okay?"

"I haven't seen him, he probably went to look for his commanding officer." Said Lyre. Suddenly, another familiar face dropped in, literally. Ranulf stood just outside the doorway. Lyre's eyes glistened at the sight of the teal-haired young man, but that went unnoticed. Ranulf looked at Ike, and said,

"Well old friend, I trust you've heard the news?"

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Yes, strange as it may seem, the Greil Mercenaries seem to have gotten an incorrect message. Why? How? You'll find out.


	2. Randomness before Breakfast

Chapter 2: Randomness before Breakfast

At sea, Sotile looked over the railing at the waves crashing against the boat. Lethe, on the other hand, was laying uncomfortably on a bed. The reason for her lack of comfort was not that she had arrows still embedded in her body, though that couldn't possibly have helped. It was that Sotile had seen it fit to shackle her to the bed. This she found odd as well, not just uncomfortable. As they continued to sail, Lethe saw the door handle of her room jiggle, and then the door open. Standing there was the archer, smiling in satisfaction. As he stepped into Lethe's room, he closed the door, then was suddenly right in front of the catgirl, who growled at the archer's mere presence.

"What do you want?" She asked. Zet laughed, but frowned as he saw Lethe's previously relaxed body suddenly straining against the chains that held her. Examining one of the shackles, the archer grabbed the wrist to which it clung. This action confused Lethe, and so she inquired about it.

"What are you doing?" Zet looked at Lethe's face then, and said,

"I guess you're wondering why you've been forced not to move your arms or legs." Lethe nodded, and to this the archer sighed.

"Well, the boss doesn't want you trying to remove the arrows. He figures the only way to deal with the normally inevitable, is to eliminate the presence of normal." Lethe sighed then, and changed the subject.

"Why were you being so cold back on the coast?"

"I was trying to give you a message, yet you didn't catch on. How unfortunate you are. No wonder Sotile doesn't want me talking to you." Said Zet.

"What do you mean? You were trying to kill me!" Said Lethe, more than just irritated by now.

"No Lethe, you've got it all wrong if you think you have anything to fear from me. If there's anyone you should be worried about, it's Sotile. And now, I will show you why." Said Zet. He then firmly grasped the one shackle he had his attention on. His hand then glowed blue, and the shackle started to glow red, until it was a constant blood red. Suddenly, the same tingly feeling she felt from the device back on the shore, she felt again. Immediately, Retton pulled on the shackle from the inside, and it broke open. He then repeated with the other three. Finally, jumping back, Zet readied his bow, nocking an arrow and aiming at the catgirl.

"Don't move. I shall show you that you have nothing to fear from me." With that, he fired the arrow, which lodged itself in Lethe's other shoulder. She expected pain, but instead she felt soothed. When she was feeling 100%, the arrows in her body melted away. Lethe was completely confused now.

"Liawun. In a long forgotten language it means 'therapy'. My arrows were never a threat to you. Rather, I was trying to help you. Do you remember that thing Sotile stabbed you with?" Lethe nodded to Zet's question, and the archer continued.

"That device sapped some off your life force. The sudden surge of escaping life force cancelled your transformation. The arrows I shot were restoring that lost life force, so that you might regain the strength to flee; that's what my attitude was for, it was a ruse to try to scare you into fleeing." Lethe couldn't figure out why, but she believed him. Why did she... oh! Was that it?

"Excuse me? Zet? Do you have a brother named Zihark? You look a lot like him." Zet bore his most thoughtful expression that Lethe had seen when the name Zihark came up.

"Yes, yes I do." Said Zet.

"I knew it. So, now that you've explained everything-" Started Lethe.

"But I haven't. There's one more thing. Gurugant has been altered by that man. Ike has to be warned. When you find him, tell him to destroy Gurugant as well, not just Sotile. Sotile may be the bad guy here, but Gurugant now uses life force, twisting it into one of the most destructive forces imaginable, and then hurling that force toward a foe. It's more dangerous than a Rune Sword now, because if it doesn't have a sufficiant amount life force, it draws on that of the weilder. It's...cursed." Lethe understood, and nodded to Zet.

"Alright, but aren't you coming? You might be able to explain it better." Zet, after an extended moment of thinking, nodded.

"Yes, I will go with you. After all, you need a way back to the mainland... before that, however, I forgot something else, though less important. Those shackles Sotile had you in, were not just restraints. In a sense, Sotile was feeding you to his sword, and he was using those soul-eating shackles to do it." That realization gave Lethe chills. So Zet really is on her side.

Meanwhile...

"Well old friend, I trust you've heard the news?" Ike nodded before saying,

"Yeah I have. For one of Gallia's most respected warriors to be reduced to such a level; it's unforgivable." Ranulf smiled strangely before saying,

"Not to sound rude, but I found the way she addressed you in her message to me, most amusing." Ike paled somewhat, and meekly asked,

"How did she address me?" Ranulf nearly cracked at the sound of Ike's meek voice, but managed to keep his seriousness as he responded,

"My guess is she was trying to keep her spirits up, but aside from your name she called you 'commander of weird'." Ike was speechless for a while, but he finally managed to ask,

"Why did she call me that?"

"I have a decent idea of why. It's probably because she heard you talking in your sleep that one time that probably made all the difference." Said Ranulf. Shinon thought he was joking at first, but then looked at Ike and saw the embarrassment on his face.

"Alright Ike, what happened?" To this, Soren cleared his throat, and afterwards said,

"Enough of this nonsense, don't we have a job to do?!"

"Yes, of course." Said Ike.

"So Ranulf, how will we be paid? After all, we are mercenaries." Said Soren. Ranulf jokingly pleaded in response,

"Awww, can't you do it out of the goodness of your heart?"

"Goodness of heart doesn't put food on the table." Said Soren.

"I know that, I was joking. I can pay you. We just want our proud warrior back." Said Ranulf

"You can count on us." Said Ike. Ranulf smiled, and said,

"I know we can, and as a bit of incentive," He reached into a pocket and pulled out a small bag which he set on the table. Following that, he said,

"There's 500 gold in that bag, count it if you wish. His majesty is ready to pay 200 times this much for the successful return of Lethe." Shinon growled, not wanting money, but a fight.

"I guess I'm in, as long as it's going to be difficult."

"Shinon... you're difficult, and no task is more so than dealing with you." Said Ike jokingly.

"Man, whatever. Can we just GO?!" Yelled Shinon, now more aggitated than ever.

"Whoa there, hothead, calm down!" Said Boyd, whom as far as Shinon was concerned must have been oblivious to what was going on. Shinon looked at Boyd, fuming, but then seemed to calm down instantly as he slowly appproached.

"Calm down, you say?" He asked, much to Boyd's surprise. The reaver just stood there, until he noticed Shinon pick something up and get a firm grip on it. Shinon was now laughing like a maniac, with the grin to match. Boyd was suddenly very afraid.

"I think I will calm down, by beating you over the head with the flat of this here axe! That oughta calm me down, eh?!" Asked Shinon as he ran after the now fleeing Boyd.

"Hey no fair Shinon, use your own weapon!" Yelled Boyd.

"Don't tempt me, or I just might shoot those damn life-givers o' yours off!" Yelled Shinon, in reply.

"Seriously, don't tempt him, he can make a shot like that trust me!" Yelled Rolf, amused at the predicament his brother had gotten himself into. That comment earned him strange looks from the mercenaries, but he just bore a proud look as he said,

"Yep, I saw him do it before!" And with that everyone, including Shinon and Boyd, fell over anime-style. Those still asleep fell out of bed right on cue. Oscar walked out of his room with his usual cheerful look, and picked Rolf up off the ground. Rolf could sense a menacing air around him, as could everyone else, and then it came.

"Please don't talk about such things before breakfast." Then the menacing air suddenly faded, causing another round of falls.

"I'm getting sick of this!" Yelled Ike. Oscar put Rolf down, then said to everyone,

"Who's up for breatfast before we depart?"

"Me!" Said everyone, faces still parallel to the floor. Of course, this included Titania, though she hadn't really shown herself yet. Mist was also among the voices. Lyre sat up, and asked Ranulf,

"Is this place always this weird before a meal?" To that Ranulf yelled,

"Since recently, yes! I don't know how Ike or Soren can take it!"

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And so it turns out that not only Ike, but Lethe as well, was given the wrong idea.


	3. A Startling Discovery

Chapter 3: A Startling Discovery

Still at sea, Lethe and Zet were sneaking around below deck. Zet had given the warning to be careful, and so they were doing just that. When they came to a staircase that lead to the deck, Zet was about to climb it, before Lethe stopped him.

"Is something wrong?" Asked Zet. To this question Lethe responded with a nod, but followed up shortly by asking,

"Why did he choose me? Is there a specific reason."

"Well, there are two, and they sort of tie into each other. First of all, because you're a Laguz, and they are commonly known to have greater vitalities than Beorc. Second, Sotile is able to read memories. Using this, he made the decision of who would generate the strongest reaction from Ike. Through what he could see, he determined that Ike held you very close to his heart, and he decided that it was the greatest opportunity he could ever get." Explained Zet. Lethe found herself unable to utter a word when she wanted to protest to Sotile's reasoning as Zet's words had projected it. Zet just smiled, and said,

"Come on, it's a fair trek home."

"Alright." Was all Lethe said. They climbed the stairs, and as they reached the top, Lethe's ears twitched at the same time Zet looked to the right in alarm.

"Look out!" They both said, ducking at the same time to let a horizontal slash from Gurugant pass over them. The slash sent a trail of pitch black energy across the air, parting the water as it travelled over it, even at an altitude of 30 ft. Lethe looked at Sotile, who bore a twisted smile as he brought the blade in front of him, perpendicular to his neck.

"GO! Get out of here!" Yelled Zet, addressing Lethe.

"Why you...." Muttered Sotile before swinging at and missing Zet. Lethe, looking worried, asked,

"But what about you Zet?"

"I'll catch up, just go!" Yelled Zet as he continued to dodge slash after slash.

"No! Not without you!" Protested Lethe.

"Stop being difficult! It's you he's after! I'm just an obstacle to him!" Yelled Zet. Slash after slash came his way, each one missing their mark by less and less.

"Zet, I can't! You helped me so much in so little time! I can't just run!" Yelled Lethe.

"You have to!" Argued Zet as he kept on his feet. He then hooked something odd-looking to the deck of the ship. As he finished messing with it, he stood up and faced Lethe, surprised and angry that she was still where she had been.

"Why are you still here?! Go!" He yelled. Lethe gasped just then, as did Zet. Where did Sotile go? Suddenly, the man no more than a few feet from Lethe.

"You should have listened to him! Now you're going to die!" Yelled Sotile in a triumphant voice. He raised his blade, ready to cleave the catgirl in two. Time seemed to slow down around her as Lethe awaited the blade. It was too late to make any attempts to flee by now, the blade would hit her too fast. As the sword came down, blood was spilt, and yet Lethe was unharmed. She had closed her eyes tightly, waiting but unwilling to die, and yet she was okay. She opened her eyes, and was horrified at the reason. Zet had jumped between them, and taken the attack to save Lethe. The sword didn't get far, but it was still painful to see.

"You-you fool...." Muttered Zet, hacking blood shortly after. Sotile laughed maniacally, and said,

"Oh? You're not much better than her! Fool!" Struggling to bring a hand to Lethe's chest, it started to glow light blue.

"I...said...GO!!!" At that point, a pulse of air created from Zet's hand sent Lethe soaring in the direction of the shore. The archer then gave Sotile a death glare accompanied by a smile. Confused, Sotile pulled the blade away, and then Zet stood up. He rushed at Sotile, but since he realized that he was rapidly slowing down, it was a feint more than anything. Sure enough, the man dodged the attack, but Zet grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and tossed him onto the deck, hard. The archer then pulled out a remote control of some sort, and smiled. Sotile saw this, and then looked at what Zet had hooked to the ship.

"A...bomb?!" Asked Sotile.

"That's right. But hey, think of it this way. Live as a family, die as a family, right?" Said Zet.

"You wouldn't!" Yelled Sotile, attempting to call his bluff. By then, however, the button was already pushed.

"I did. Now we can die together." Said Zet with a smile. The explosive flashed a few times, and then detonated. The explosion could be seen for miles, and Lethe saw it as her trip to shore continued.

"ZET!!!" Yelled Lethe in despair. Shortly after, she arrived at shore. However, it was the southern coast of the laguz territories. Goldoa. As she skidded to a halt, she was immediately greeted by some people that could definitely be more happy to see her based on their faces.

Meanwhile...

At the Greil Fort, breakfast had developed into an eating contest between Ike, and surprisingly Ranulf. By this time, Lyre had almost puked 5 times, and after that fifth time, Shinon tried to reassure her.

"This? This is nothing! Now Ike and Skrimir are competitive eaters like the world's never seen." This information did little to ease Lyre's stomach. In fact, it just made her feel that much more queezy. Boyd laughed slightly, not wanting to upset the catgirl, and then said,

"Yeah, something I've always heard Oscar tell Mist is 'the way to a man's heart is through his stomach'. I still don't understand why."

"I see the perfect example." Said Titania. Boyd laughed, and retorted,

"Really? I see two." Having finished a bowl of pasta by himself, Ike yelled into the kitchen,

"Oscar, keep it coming!" Ranulf then followed by saying,

"More steak!"

"No! You guys have had enough to feed an army. Each. We have a job! Let's get to work already!" Yelled Oscar. Ike and Ranulf stared at the kitchen, then to each other. They each had stereotypical chipmunk cheeks, stuffed full of unswallowed food. This made Lyre retch, but Ike and Ranulf couldn't leave it at that. They started bickering before swallowing, and thus were spraying food everywhere. This time, Lyre couldn't stand it, and ran to the lavatory to be polite. The two bickering eaters looked at Lyre as she ran off, and then they each swallowed their entire mouthful in one go.

"Ok, I'm ready!" Announced Ike.

"That's wonderful, but we need to go. The longer we wait around, the higher the chance of it being too late." Said Soren. Suddenly, in a wisp of smoke, Zet was standing before the Greil Mercenaries. He immediately keeled over, clutching his shoulder in pain. Realizing in who's presence he was, the archer smiled as the pain brought him to his knees.

"Where is...Ike." He asked weakly. Ike stepped forward, and said to the archer,

"I am Ike. What business do you have with me, and why are you in such bad shape?" Zet gave the gesture for Ike to wait, and then pulled out a Vulnerary. Drinking some of it, he welcomed the healing effect, and then returned to speaking with Ike.

"This is going to be a lot to swallow, but Lethe of the beast tribe is being hunted. I tried and failed to save her, and just barely escaped the predicament I put myself in with my life. The hunter in this situation, is a man named Sotile. This man gained possession of the sword Gurugant. It is now a monster, so to speak. Sotile performed crazy experiments on the sword, trying to give it the properties of a Rune Sword. He had no idea the monstrosity he was unleashing into the world. Ike, please. Go to her aid! Sotile... no, Gurugant will surely be seeking her again."

"Why?! Why is this guy after Lethe?" Asked Ike.

"It's not him who wants to find Lethe. Now listen carefully. When you find Sotile, no matter what the case may be, keep your anger in check. The angrier you are, the harder it will be to keep your sanity around Gurugant." Explained Zet.

"What are you talking about?" Asked Ike.

"Gurugant has become a blood-thirsty fiend of a sword capable of cleaving a transformed dragon in two in a single swing. Just think about it. What do I mean?" Asked Zet. Ike now got the picture. Lyre came back at that point. She had heard everything.

"How could that be, sir? Does that mean that this is some sort of lie?" She was referring to the note, the one she had brought with her. Taking the parchment, Zet examined it, but it didn't take long to come to a conclusion.

"Well, whoever did this made a fair immitation, but they made one amateur mistake." He then held it up to the light.

"This is not a legitimate paper for such transactions. Truly pitiful when you think about it." He said. Ike crossed his arms, then looked at Zet again.

"Do you know where she is now?"

"Based on calculations I made during her rescue, I'd say she's in Goldoa right now. She will probably be given rest and provisions, and then be sent on her way." Explained Zet. He then lifted his head and listened closely to the sounds outside.

"Damn it! I've been followed! Prepare yourselves, mercenaries, to face foes the likes of which you've never imagined! I will stand and fight by your side." Rolf scoffed, and said,

"How could you help?! Shinon and I are capable enough archers to handle any enemy!" Zet looked at Rolf, and asked,

"Is that so?" While this was going on, Shinon was trying to hush Rolf.

"Rolf, be quiet!" He said.

"Hmmmm? Why?" Asked Rolf. Shinon sighed, unable to believe what he was about to admit. His pride seemed to shatter just thinking about it, but it was undeniable.

"This guy...He's at least 10 times the archer I am." This left Rolf absolutely speechless. Shinon then continued,

"If I challenged him, I would be the loser before the first arrow." Zet smiled proudly, but then looked toward the entrance of the fort.

"Let's go! We have to deal with this problem if we are to address the main one! Greil Mercenaries, attack!" Yelled Ike. Everyone prepared for battle, and ran outside. Ike brought up the rear, weilding Ragnell.

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And the situation keeps changing! More to come later!


	4. Forced into a Corner

Chapter 4: Forced into a Corner

"Why are you here?" Asked a Goldoan soldier. Apparently this one was at a higher point of command than the first three. Still, he wasn't very bright.

"Why am I here? Because you're holding my arm! Let go!" Yelled Lethe. The soldier growled.

"You're trying my patience wench!"

"And you're trying your luck dumbass!" Retorted Lethe. The dragon roared in the catgirl's face, something she did not appreciate.

"Yo buddy, do something about that breath of yours or you'll wilt all the plants by yourself! And while you're at it, just let me go!" The soldier was getting more and more ticked by the second. Suddenly, a powerful voice made him cower.

"Stop this at once! Put her down, right now!" Accompanying that voice was the appearance of Gareth. The soldier put Lethe down, and said,

"Ok, I guess I'll be returning to my post now." Gareth stormed over to the soldier and roared.

"What you will do is escort Lethe here to his majesty. You will stay there as well, so that we may decide if there remains a post for you to return to! Move, now!" With that Gareth made his way back to the throne room. The soldier huffed, and Lethe looked at him smugly.

"Well, I'm waiting. You're supposed to escort me to the throne room?" The soldier growled.

"Goldoa is for the powerful dragons, not the helpless kittens! No matter what anyone says, you will never be a welcome sight to me." Lethe, now feeling insulted, said,

"Whoa! You did not just, are you challenging me?!" The soldier scoffed.

"No, I'm stating fact! The felines of Gallia pale in comparison to the mighty dragons!"

"Prove it!" Yelled Lethe.

"In time, perhaps. Now I have a job, as much as I despise it. Come with me." Said the soldier, walking toward the palace. Lethe rolled her eyes, and followed him, thinking,

'He's afraid of me!' As they approached the throne room, Lethe couldn't help looking around. When they arrived, Kurthnaga sat on the throne, a stern look in his eyes. He had certainly grown, of that much Lethe was certain. The soldier stepped closer to the throne room, and Lethe walked up beside him. They both bowed, and to that Kurthnaga said,

"Rise Lethe, you need not bow to an ally." Lethe stood up again, much to the soldier's aggitation. He stood as well, and immediately said,

"Sire that can't possibly be right! She's an outsider!"

"An outsider from an allied land, and one whom I know quite well as an individual. You, on the other hand, are a subordinate, and you will show me respect. In addition. Due to your failure to recognize an accident for what it was, I'm demoting you. From now on, when we have an ally as a guest, you will tend to them personally." Explained Kurthnaga. The soldier growled in frustration. Laughing, Kurthnaga said,

"Actually your actions have made it clear to me that you are unworthy as even a servant. Return to the life of a civilian, you have no place here!" The soldier gasped, and then Gareth said,

"You heard the king! Get out of our sight!" The former soldier stormed out, muttering something about the king being crazy.

"Forgive me for any trouble his arrogance may have caused you." Said Kurthnaga.

"Of course." Said Lethe.

"Gareth. See to it that someone prepares a place for our guest." Commanded Kurthnaga. Gareth bowed in respect and compliance, but Lethe interjected.

"No, I can't stay. The circumstances would put you all in danger. I'm being hunted!" Explained Lethe.

"All the more reason for you to stay. We shall protect you." Promised Kurthnaga.

"No, it's too dangerous! This is my problem!" Insisted Lethe.

"That kind of attitude is the dangerous thing!" Said Gareth. Kurthnaga held a hand in front of Gareth, and then said,

"Then at the very least, let us provide you with a meal and provisions." Lethe sighed, She just couldn't pass that up.

Meanwhile...

As Ike ran outside, he was greeted by a large number of enemy units. They were everywhere; in the courtyard, around the fort, and in the forest beyond the grounds of the fort. With everyone assembled, Ike turned to Soren for advice.

"So Soren, any ideas about how to handle this?" He asked. Soren quickly responded,

"Unfortunately, no. This attack was so sudden, I don't even know what they want!"

"They're looking for Lethe. They have no idea that she's not here." Said Zet.

"Lethe? Why?" Asked Ike.

"I'll tell you later. Right now we need to break through the enemy numbers, and take out the leader of this brigade." Explained Zet.

"Why the leader?" Asked Soren.

"The soldiers we are seeing are members of the dark world military, called upon by Gurugant. Sotile is such a fool! How could he have created such a monster?! Anyway, the leader of this brigade is a Demon Warlord. It has full command over all of the lesser demons in its brigade. Kill the warlord, and its minions are returned to the dark world. Like I said before, these are not ordinary adversaries. Be warned, every demonic weapon has a destructive special ability. Be very careful if you see one of these guys using their weapon strangely." Explained Zet Ike nodded, and then called out,

"Does everyone understand? Our target is the leader! Keep yourself constantly aware of what your enemies are doing! We don't want to become the victim of the full capabilities of these demonic weapons!" Everyone wwas in agreement, and thus the struggle started. Shinon immediately shot an arrow to his left, but it was deflected by an axe. The axe weilder then vanished.

"What the-!" Exclaimed Shinon.

"Look out!" Yelled Zet. He shot his own arrow at what seemed like midair, but blood was spilt, and the demon reappeared. All it did was groan in pain, and then it went back to battle.

"Hey! You didn't tell us they could do that!" Yelled Shinon. Groaning, he shot the demon between the eyes. It fell over, motionless. Shinon nudged it with his foot, and it wasn't moving. Satisfied, he went off in search of another target, when suddenly an axe blade just barely missed him. He turned around, and the same demon he had just shot was back up.

"What's with these guys?!" Asked Shinon.

"I don't know, but they're getting really annoying!" Yelled Titania. Ike was having similar difficulty.

"These guys seem immortal!" He said. No matter how many pieces the demon he fought was cut into, it pulled itself back together.

"This is not good...." He said to himself. Zet looked in a random direction jusst in time to see a transformed Ranulf charging a demon.

"Ranulf! Stop!" He yelled. Ranulf looked at Zet, and dodged an attack by the demon he used to be charging.

"Why did you stop him?" Asked Ike.

"These demons are possessed by their weapons, which are filling them with some kind of poison! It's designed simply to make the demons that much more dangerous! Disarm them!" Explained Zet. Ike shrugged his shoulders, and used Ragnell's ranged attack to destroy the demon's weapon. Within moments, said demon was reduced to dust.

"Weird, but it works." Said Ike. Zet nodded, and pointed at the southern exit of the courtyard.

"The Warlord should be that way." He said. Ike nodded in reply, dodged a few more attacks, then said,

"Oscar, Shinon, Mia, Soren, follow me!" He started toward the southern exit, but then turned around to look for his allies. Everyone was accounted for, and so he continued outside the fort. He destroyed demon after demon as he looked for one that looked like an authority figure. When he found the unmistakable leader, he gasped. The Warlord laughed as he held Ike's sister Mist by the neck.

"Brother, help me!" Cried Mist.

"Mist!" Yelled Ike. The Warlord continued to laugh, but stopped when Ike yelled,

"Let her go you coward! Fight me, one-on-one!" The Warlord growled and held it's blade to Mist's neck.

"Brother!!!" Screamed Mist as she felt the blade.

"Where's a useful ally when I need one...." Muttered Ike.

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Lethe is getting help, and Ike needs help. Kind of ironic if you think about it. More to come later.


	5. Struggle in Goldoa

Chapter 5: Struggle in Goldoa

After a meal and a bit of rest, Lethe was ready to be on her way.

"Are you certain there isn't more we can do?" Asked Kurthnaga. Lethe knew the black dragon had good intentions, but she had to refuse.

"I'm sorry, but I fear I may have already been here too long." Suddenly, she recieved the one sign she didn't want. Looking in the direction of the village with an alarmed expression, she simply yelled,

"NO!!!" And ran out of the palace. She continued toward the village, growling and thinking,

'I knew this would happen!' As she got closer, the smell of blood grew stronger. When finally she reached the village, there were no dragons outside, except those who had already met death. One dragon who remained alive suddenly caught her attention.

"You!" The dragon, who was partially buried in rubble, looked at the catgirl, and suddenly looked like he had seen a ghost.

"Don't tell me...you didn't!" Yelled Lethe.

"Yeah, I told him to check the palace!" Stated the dragon ex-soldier.

"Why you dispicable rat!" Yelled Lethe. She growled as she faced the palace again, then set off toward it. The dragon struggled underneath the rubble before yelling,

"Hey, are you just gonna leave me like this?!"

"Yes!" Yelled Lethe. She started a run back to the palace, but was intercepted by an odd-looking creature. Puzzled, the catgirl attempted to go around, only to be stopped every time. She was now practically fuming.

"Can I help you?!" Without a word, the bizarre creature grabbed Lethe's arm and started trying to walk toward the palace. Lethe wouldn't let it, however, her suspicion having been proven true by this creature's actions.

'So this is a minion of his? How bizarre!' She thought. The creature continued trying to walk to the palace, but was making no progress. Then, however, another weird individual picked up Lethe's legs, and together the two creatures carried the catgirl to the palace. Nearby, four men with wings watched, waiting for the ideal moment to follow.

"Okay, let's go!" Yelled one.

"Okay Janaff, I'm trusting you on this. We can''t make any mistakes, you know that." Said another, the one who seemed to be in charge.

"Of course sir. Now come on!" Insisted Janaff. Another winged man, the only one with black wings, stated,

"I've got a bad feeling about this. I'm not doubting anyone, it's just that, well you know I got here first, I didn't like the look of that guy one bit."

"You saw him?! Why didn't you stop this? Naesala are you plotting again?!" Asked the one who appeared to be in command.

"Geez Tibarn, give a guy credit for trying even if he fails, will ya? Trust me, I attacked him. The only reaction I got was a counterattack. I definitely got him, but that guy is not normal." Explained Naesala

"Enough, we need to go guys!" Yelled Janaff. At that, without any further comments, all four men made their way to the dragon palace. At that point, a man in a cloak seemed to have just arrived in the country. Inside the palace, at the throne room, Lethe was brought to Sotile. She wasn't even put down before the man made his way to her, sword in hand. As he lifted the weapon, Lethe closed her eyes tightly, once again waiting for death.

"No one to help you now." Said Sotile. Suddenly, the man was hit by Wind magic, and it sent him against a wall. As he got to his feet, there was Naesala, arms crossed with a proud smile.

"You were saying?" He said. Lethe was surprised, to say the least. She never thought she'd be happy to see the Raven King. Sotile got up, and without checking his injuries at all, raised his blade, and brought it to the ground.

"Watch out!" Yelled Lethe.

"Huh?" Asked Naesala. Then he saw the trail of black energy headed for him, and got out of the way, yelling,

"Whoa!" As the energy hit the wall, it trailed up the wall slightly, and then branched like chain lightning all along the wall.

"That...doesn't look good." Muttered Naesala. Almost right after he said that, the wall fell to dust. It was worse than Naesala had imagined, honestly. After the wall crumbled, from the hall leading to the throne room came Tibarn, in hawk form. He slammed his talons into Sotile, who protected himself with Gurugant. He didn't budge an inch. Lethe was frustrated now, it seemed like Sotile just kept getting stronger.

"What can we do against an enemy like this? Oh Zet, why did you have to die in vain?" Cried Lethe. Almost as if on cue, another attack came from the hall. It wasn't Zet, because it wasn't an arrow. Rather, it was a trail of blue energy. It hit Sotile, who actually felt it that time, and he was flung into a wall. There was a gleam of silver from where the attack had come, and some recognized it faster than others.

"Alondite...." Muttered Tibarn. From out off the shadows stepped the cloaked man, wielding the sword Alondite, which had been taken from the Black Knight after his fall. The man under the cloak had his head down, and as he looked up, his steel-blue eyes glared at the briefly dazed Sotile.

"Zihark...?" Asked Lethe.

"Bastard...." He muttered. He then raced forward, almost seeming to vanish. When next he was seen, he had Alondite thrust into Sotile's lower abdomen. At that point, he whipped his sword arm up, bringing Alondite with it as he jumped and flipped, slicing Sotile's chest. Lethe cringed at the sight, then suddenly fell as the things holding her let go to charge the cloaked man. There was a glint in the cloaked man's eyes as he looked back toward the attackers. Those who blinked in that instant, missed it. The creatures crumbled to dust as their weapons were destroyed. Heaving a sigh, the man removed his hood to reveal that Lethe's guess was correct. Zihark walked slowly toward Lethe, remembering that his brother had been worried for her safety.

"It's good to see you again. I only wish it were under more pleasant circumstances. My brother's worried, you know. I'm sure you'll be wanting to see him again." Said Zihark with a smile. Lethe smiled back, because even though she hadn't seen for herself, she knew Zihark was speaking the truth. Tibarn approached the Trueblade, once again in his demibeorc state. He placed a hand on Zihark's shoulder, and smiled.

"You're a good man. Can I trust you to get Lethe to safety? That man is after her, and is still alive, somehow. I'll provide a diversion, but I don't know how long I can hold him off. Get out of here, and if you go looking for this man in the future, make sure you bring Ike."

"Tibarn, no! If he kills you, Gurugant will take your life force. That would make it almost unstoppable! You can't put your life on the line with such a disastrous outcome!" Argued Lethe. Tibarn sighed, and said,

"I know it's risky, but someone has to do it!"

"I will." Said Naesala.

"Naesala...." Muttered Tibarn.

"Tibarn, you have to live on as the head of the bird laguz! No one is more suited for the job than you! Strength, honor, modesty, you have these things, and all of the bird tribes look up to you because of it! And what have I done along the road of the unifying of these tribes? I've turned on my fellow Laguz time and again for the sake of my own tribe. Tibarn, you've always promised me that I would pay dearly, now allow me to do this, so that I may atone for what I've done by giving others a chance!" Yelled Naesala.

"I never thought I'd hear this kind of speech from you, Naesala." Said Uiki

"That's not important, just go!" Yelled Naesala.

"...Good luck." Said Tibarn

"No, not good luck." Said Naesala,

"Good-bye."

"Uh-oh, he's getting up!" Yelled Janaff.

"Go! If you just stand there you won't be able to get away! I can tell, this guy is faster than all of us. If I can buy you any time at all to get away, then I will be satisfied. Now get out of here!" Yelled Naesala. Tibarn nodded, and transformed, taking flight with Lethe and Zihark on his back and Janaff and Uiki tailing him. Naesala watched them go, then turned to Sotile.

"So it's just the crow now, is it? Oh well, at least I can beat on someone." Said Sotile with a laugh.

"Laugh while you can, scum." Retorted Naesala.

"Oh? And just what could you hope to accomplish?" Asked Sotile. Naesala transformed into his raven form, and flew toward Sotile, talons poised to attack. They hit their mark, but it seemed like Sotile didn't feel it. The man grabbed Naesala's right leg, and threw him into a wall. After a few moments, the raven king recovered, and with a few furious flaps of his wings, his unique ability summoned a magic windstorm. The wind sliced Sotile in many places, yet he remained standing. The man laughed, and said,

"I won't even need my sword to finish this!" He then thrust Gurugant into the stone floor and raced toward the raven, delivering a solid punch to him, sending him rocketing into a wall. While Naesala tried to recover, his transformation was suddenly cancelled. He was panting heavily as he stood up, and then he found himself clutching his chest.

"Great, of all times to get a broken rib." He muttered.

"Well, you're a bit more risilient then I thought. All you got from that was a broken rib? I'm impressed." Said Sotile.

"This guy's...not normal." Said Naesala. Sotile pulled his sword out of the ground.

"I guess I will have to use this after all! My fists just won't cut it." Said Sotile, a big grin on his face. Naesala was almost unconscious as the man approached.

"Reyson...forgive me...." And with that Naesala lost consciousness. Sotile continued to approach, when suddenly the raven king was gone in a flash. After a few moments of speechlessness, Sotile growled in frustration.

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And in the end, someone got Naesala out of the fray! Tibarn and co. are looking for Ike, so that he might lend them his strength for the upcoming fight.


	6. Brawn vs Brain

Chapter 6: Brawn vs. Brain

"Let her go, you fiend!" Yelled Ike. The demon warlord simply growled and continued to hold Mist in a threatening position.

"What am I going to do?!" Just then, he noticed Rolf in a tree behind the demon. Shinon noticed him as well, and was clenching his fists, hoping that he wouldn't screw his only chance.

"Come on, kiddo, like I taught you...." Muttered the older marksman. As Rolf pulled the bowstring back further, hands shaking, the words of his teacher rung in his head.

_"One clean motion. No hesitation."_ With those words taken to heart, Rolf calmed down. Easing up on the string, he decided to start over, not wanting to let everyone down.

'Everyone's counting on me!' He thought. He counted down in his head, 3, 2, 1, then let the arrow fly. As is soared past the leaves, it didn't make any sound. Shinon recognized that, and smiled, though he was still slightly nervous.

'This has to work!' He thought. As the arrow closed in, the demon turned its head toward it, and moved just enough to avoid it. Everyone was in despair now, everyone except Ike, who kept an unusually cool head.

'I can still use the distraction that arrow served to make, but I have to act, now! This is my only chance.' With that thought, Ike dropped and sweeped his leg under the demon, tripping him. After that, he plunged Ragnell into the ground, and used it as an anchor while he kicked the demon skyward. As the demon was forced into the air, it dropped Mist, whom Ike caught and put on her feet.

"Stay here." He said to her. He then pulled Ragnell roughly out of the ground and threw it toward the demon.

"Ike! Are you crazy?!" Asked Shinon.

"Maybe, but seriously I'm not. Just trying out a new technique." Said Ike. Turning back to the demon, Ike smirked and leaped high into the air. Grabbing Ragnell, he yelled,

"GREAT AETHER!!!" As soon as he started yelling that, he started flipping and spinning his body, all the while using Ragnell to slash the demon several times as he passed it in his acrobatic maneuvers. He then grabbed the demon's arm and threw it straight down. He followed it, sword out in front, and as he brought the blade upon the demon, the shock sent the demon skyward once more. Then, Ike grabbed Ragnell with both hands and poured some energy into it, melding his own power with that already within the blade. After that, Ike wound up to throw Ragnell, and then he actually threw it. As the sword soared toward the demon, it glowed brightly. The blade impaled the demon, and then Ike brought his hand, which was outstretched, to his side while saying,

"Radiant Burst." As soon as that was said, the demon was caught in a massive explosion, of which Ragnell was the centerpoint. Ragnell came twirling toward Ike at an incredible speed, and yet he caught it by the handle, jabbing it into the ground shortly afterward, and crossing his arms. When the aftermath of the explosion cleared, the demon was gone. The explosion had destroyed the weapon wielded by the demon, and thus it returned to the dark world. Turning toward his group, Ike said to them,

"We've wasted enough time here, let's go!" And with that they were off in the direction of Gallia, where they planned an en route to Goldoa. As they passed through the forest, Ranulf noticed that Lyre was lagging behind. Upon closer inspection, he saw that she was limping. Concerned, he went up front to talk to Ike.

"Hey Ike, what do you think about setting up camp once we get out of the forest?" Puzzled, Ike asked,

"Are you feeling okay Ranulf? Here we are, trying not to slow you Laguz down, and you, of all people are asking to set up camp? The sun hasn't even set yet!"

"Yes, but it will soon. Besides, it's not me I'm worried about." Said Ranulf. He then pointed to Lyre, who was limping through the forest, way behind the rear Beorc.

"Poor Lyre has been through so much since last night, and in that previous battle, it looks like she got hurt pretty bad. Ike, I'm asking you this favor in her stead. Let's stop for the night when we get back on a road." Said Ranulf. Sighing, Ike said,

"Well, the others probably won't like it, but alright. We'll sep up for the night once we get out of the forest."

"Great, thanks buddy!" Said Ranulf, running back toward Lyre afterward. Ike shook his head in disbelief.

"I just know Soren's going to chew me out for this." As they exited the forest, there was a merchant caravan parked off to the roadside. Ike's expression brightened at the conveniency. He ran over to the caravan with the intention of inquiring about the choice to park where they did.

"Are you sure? Evil-looking creatures in armor? Further down this road?" Asked Ike. One of the merchants nodded.

"Yes, they've been plundering other caravans recently, and we're unarmed. Our bodyguards went on ahead, but that was 3 hours ago. They haven't come back yet."

"Alright, well considering the circumstances, would you be willing to give us discounts in exchange for our protection? We've an abundance of combat skill, but unfortunately we're sadly lacking in funds." Explained Ike. Soren walked over to Ike and the caravan then, finding the position to be too convenient. As he approached, he waved everyone else over to him, expecting trouble. As he got close to Ike, he cleared his throat.

"Yes Soren?" Asked Ike.

"Ike, I don't trust them. Everything pieces together too perfectly, and, IKE! Watch out!" Yelled Soren. Ike looked behind him and ducked just in time to avoid a halberd that was thrown at him.

"What the-!" Yelled Ike. Instead of the merchants who were there, he found demons. The caravan wasn't even there. Instead there was a circle of bare dirt with grass all around it. Soren eyed the dirt circle suspiciously.

"Man, we don't need this!" Said Ike. The demons then spread out, while Soren continued to look at the circle.

"Ike, there's still something wrong here. Look, the grass has been removed in a perfect circle." Ike nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it is pretty weird."

"Weird? More like not natural. Be on your toes, Ike. I suspect something foul." Said Soren.

"Gotcha." Replied Ike. From behind Ike, Shinon shot an arrow at the demon closest to the circle, as he looked to be the leader. The demon sidestepped the arrow, and as it moved, it fell over. At this time, Ike lunged at the demon, who was heavily armored, and thrust his sword at it, only to have nothing happen, except the creation of sparks and a loud clang. The demon delivered a palm thrust to Ike's face, dazing him just long enough for the demon to get the upper hand. It grabbed Ike and threw him toward the river, but he ended up stopping several inches short of actually being in the river. As he got up, he saw more demons marching toward the fray. Quickly Soren stepped forward. As he got closer to the heavily-armored demon, it readied its lance to attack the Sage. Then Soren pocketed his tome, and made a bold claim.

"What a coward! Here I am, disarming myself, and you're still trying to look macho behind a weapon! Talk about stacking the odds, and yet look at me, I refuse to re-arm myself. Now who's the big shot. Come on you ugly chicken, I challenge you to an unarmed fight, just you and me!" The demon grunted in a way that seemed to represent a question, and it pointed at its lance.

"Yeah, get rid of it if you really want to fight me. I'll even up the ante. If you beat me, you can kill all of my allies." Said Soren.

"Soren!" Yelled Ike.

"Ah, you seem to be one step ahead of me, Ike. Would you hold onto my opponent's lance for him?" Asked Soren.

"Soren, I don't know what you're thinking, but I hope you haven't gone mad on me." Said Ike.

"What does that scrawny mage think he's doing?! Man, he just ruined all of our progress in one attempt! Way to go!" Said Shinon. Titania approached Shinon, and said,

"Don't count Soren out yet, when has he ever let us down?"

"Including now, once." Said Shinon.

"You're not seeing the bigger picture. it's obvious that Soren has some good old deception going here." Said Titania. After Ike took the lance from the armored demon, said demon faced Soren about 10 feet away from him.

"Whenever you're ready, big guy." Said Soren. Almost immediately, the demon started charging at Soren, who smiled and looked at Ike.

"Now Ike!" He yelled. The demon looked at Ike, who had a smirk on his face. He threw the lance to the ground, grabbed Ragnell, and sliced the shaft in two. The weapon disintegrated, as did the demon who wielded it, armor and all. Shortly after, all of the demons in the area went away as well.

"Good thinking Soren, but this still doesn't explain the circle of dirt." Said Ike. Soren simply pointed at Shinon, who just said,

"What?"

"Your handiwork made me way to cautious Shinon. What were you doing around here anyway?!" Asked Ike.

"Testing the possibility of flaming arrows." Said Shinon, quite proudly. Ike was somewhat frustrated, but ultimately he chalked it up to coincidence. Sighing, he said,

"With that taken care of, shall we stop here for the night? Two fights is more than enough for one day." Everyone nodded in agreement, and looking to the sky, Ike thought,

'In a way, I'm glad for my hasty actions that led to this conflict. For one thing, it's given anyone coming our way more time to find us before we move again, and for another, I can make sure everyone's ready to go tomorrow without Soren getting upset about us not making good time.' At camp that night, Shinon was still somewhat upset about the chance he thought Soren had taken.

"I knew what I was doing! Geez." Said Soren.

"You still had me worried!" Yelled Shinon.

"You wanted a difficult time! Call it contribution to the satisfaction of a hardheaded moron." Said Soren. Shinon screamed in aggravation, and everyone else had a hearty laugh.

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I had a bit of trouble deciding what II wanted to do with this one.


	7. Broadening Horizons

Chapter 7: Broadening Horizons

Just beyond Goldoa, in Gallia, Lethe, Zihark, and the hawks were settling down for the night. As Lethe was just about asleep, she saw Zihark sneaking off on his own, Her curiosity piqued, the catgirl decided to follow. As she snuck around, she soon saw Zihark with onee of his closed fists ready to punch a tree. Lethe snickered almost silently as she witnessed what she considered a simple act of Beorc stupidity. She considered it that until the punch was thrown. Zihark's fist went through the tree, boring a hole all the way through, a hole more than twice the size of his fist. Lethe thought she would faint, but as she staggered backwards, Zihark caught her and helped her maintain her balance. Clearing his throat, Zihark asked,

"How long have you been there?" Lethe crossed her arms, and replied,

"Long enough. How did you do that?"

"Never mind that. It's late. Get some sleep." Said Zihark.

"Not until you tell me how you punched through that tree." Insisted Lethe.

"I didn't punch through the tree, now go back to camp." Said Zihark, beginning to feel slightly aggitated.

"Nice try, but I saw you. Tell me or...or I'll tell his majesty King Caineghis that you're destroying trees on his land." Threatened Lethe. Zihark once again stated,

"I didn't punch through the tree."

"Then what do you call that hole, hmmm?" Asked Lethe.

"I call that hole my little secret, but I can tell you, I didn't punch the tree. If you were at all in tune with the energies inside of you that make you different from a rock, you would know that. Now go back to camp." Said Zihark. Lethe got in his face, and said,

"Maybe you didn't punch it, but you still destroyed it."

"No I didn't, Have yourself a look." Insisted Zihark. As Zihark suggested, Lethe looked at the tree, and sure enough there was no hole.

"What? This makes no sense." Said Lethe. Zihark smiled, and placed his index finger on her forehead. Suddenly, she could hear him inside her head.

"When you can do what I can do, logic plays no role in life. For example, logic clearly states that what goes up must come back down. Law of gravity." Taking his finger off of Lethe's forehead, and then started slowly rising off of the ground.

"As you can probably tell from my constant increase in altitude, gravity doesn't tell me when to return to the ground. I tell myself that." Lethe was in complete disbelief at this point.

"This is a dream, it has to be a dream." She pinched herself.

"Ow. Oh god I'm not sleeping!"

"Of course you're not. You see me, don't you?" Said Zihark.

"Okay, come on Zihark. If you're not going to tell me how you're doing that, then at least return to the ground." Said Lethe.

"I told you how I'm doing it, sort of. You can do it too, well, not right now but with practice...oops." Said Zihark. He realized he had said too much then, and now Lethe was looking at him strangely.

"Alright then, teach me if you're so sure I can do it." Zihark was backing away slowly as Lethe was advancing on him just as slowly.

"Well?" She asked. Zihark sighed and said,

"Fine! I suppose it's alright, but my teacher must never find out."

"Oh? Why?" Asked Lethe, now more curious than ever.

"He made me promise to keep it a family matter!" Yelled Zihark.

"Ohhhh...." Said Lethe. Zihark walked a few steps away, then motioned for Lethe to follow him. She followed as instructed, and was eventually led to a clearing.

"I cannot believe I'm doing this...." Muttered Zihark. Lethe waited for the Trueblade to begin, looking innocent.

"Oh alright! Let's begin with the basics. First of all, a general question. What do you know about yourself?" Asked Zihark. Of course, Lethe had no idea what he was talking about. The swordsman smacked himself in the face, then tried a different question,

"Alright, were you taught anything at all other than Laguz combat?"

"Well, that depends on what you mean." This time, Zihark relaxed somewhat, thinking he might get headway to go with.

"Did any of the other teachings relate to spiritual awareness?"

"The only thing I can think of that could possibly relate to that, that I know of, would be our ability, as Laguz, to transform." Said Lethe.

"And generally Laguz are naturally more in tune with themselves and the natural forces than Beorcs are, so this might be easier than I thought." Said Zihark. He took a deep breath, and could tell that Lethe wasn't ready.

"This will never do. You have to relax, otherwise it just won't work." Explained Zihark. Lethe took a short pause, and then took a deep breath. She then tried to let go of everything that was causing her tension.

"Find a state of tranquility." Said Zihark. Lethe continued her attempts to relax, but she made little progress. While Lethe focused on ridding herself of troubling thoughts, Zihark walked around behind her, and placed his hands on her shoulders. Lethe squealed, but found herself relaxing as she recieved a massage from the Trueblade.

"I can't do much, but I can assist on the physical level. Just close your eyes. Imagine something that makes you calm." It didn't take long for Lethe to calm herself by following this simple advice.

"Excellent, and you've even taken it the next step. Now, open your mind, allow yourself entry into the depths of your mind." Said Zihark.

"How?" Asked Lethe.

"Shhh, Don't allow yourself to be distracted. Listen to my voice, but don't focus on what I'm saying. Hear it once, then let it go. Focus on your own mind, and let everything else melt away. The focus is you." Said Zihark. From that point, it didn't take long for Lethe to get back on track. She felt a strange presence nearby, but she couldn't determine where.

"Zihark? Is someone there?"

"No, it's just you and me. If you feel a strange presence, then you're on the right track. Don't fight it, it's a part of you." Explained Zihark.

"Something doesn't feel right...." Said Lethe.

"Shhhh. Don't worry Lethe. You know yourself a lot better than you think you do. What you see in your mind's eye, is the final part of our first lesson. You're resisting yourself Lethe. Don't be afraid. Don't resist, accept what you are seeing, it is part of you. Feel it as part of you." Said Zihark.

"I don't know how." Said Lethe. She then gasped.

"Don't doubt yourself. The less you claim to know, the more doubt you show. The more doubt you show, the farther from you your goal will appear." Said Zihark.

"You're just making this harder Zihark!" Yelled Lethe.

"Then give up. If you can't drown me out, you can't hope to even begin to master the secrets I have for you. Give up Lethe. Give up. You are not a warrior." Taunted Zihark. Lethe could feel herself tensing up. She then gasped as she made herself realize something.

'The angrier I let myself become, the more I'll be proving what Zihark is saying to be true. And yet I....No! I won't let it be true!' Thought Lethe. Now instead of her vision getting farther from her, it was getting closer. This intrigued Zihark quite a bit.

'For her to force out her own doubt so effortlessly. Was it really luck? I'm not sure.' Thought the Trueblade.

"So what now?" Asked Lethe. Zihark could tell that it was telepathy, and he smiled.

"The night is still young. Let's move on, shall we? Next lesson, you're going to learn to manipulate the power you've just attained. I'm sure then when you completed the previous lesson you felt a massive up-surge of energy?"

"Yeah, I did. What is it?" Asked Lethe.

"You don't know?" Asked Zihark.

"Well I have a guess. Is it the energy you were talking about?" Asked Lethe.

"Yes. It's your spiritual force." Said Zihark.

"So how do I use it?" Asked Lethe.

"Give me your hand." Said Zihark. Lethe was puzzled, but did as requested. Zihark placed his palm on hers, and held it there for about five seconds, then removed his hand from hers and immediately folded her hand closed.

"Now, open your hand." Said Zihark. Lethe did so, and there, floating above her palm, was what appeared to be a small flame. Lethe could tell that it was very different from fire, however. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the Trueblade, and asked,

"What now?"

"Well, you could throw it, to see what you're capable of with this new power. I'm curious too." Said Zihark.

"Oh you are, eh?" Asked Lethe, shooting Zihark a strange glance. She then wound up and threw it at the Trueblade. Zihark decided just to defend against it instead of evading it. As it hit the man, it exploded in a brilliant flash. Both ended up shield their eyes, and when they could see again, Zihark approached Lethe.

"Congradulations Lethe, and yet unfortunately I've taught you all I can.. From now on, your progress will be strictly your own; just the way it was for me." Lethe sighed in disappointment, but seemed to brighten up, and asked,

"So, you wanna head back? The sun will be rising soon." Zihark nodded, and they started the trip back; only to be yelled at by Tibarn upon returrn.

"What were you thinking?! What would you do if your stunt gave away our position to the enemy?" Asked Tibarn. Zihark had a hard time thinking of a way out, and as Lethe glanced at the Trueblade, she smiled genuinely.

"Sorry Tibarn, but it was my fault. My curiosity got the better of me, and I ended up spending some time with Zihark. He didn't mean to take so long, I just got him caught up in something." Tibarn sighed, then smiled.

"I must be getting soft. I know I'd never let my fellow hawks off this easily. Fine, at least you returned. Now, the sun has just breached the horizon. Let's get back on track." Suggested the Hawk King. With everyone in agreement, positions were taken and thw group was once again airborne.

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So Lethe learned a new trick. Yeah, that was the centerpoint of this chapter.


	8. A Step Back

Chapter 8: A Step Back

Though in close proximity, Zihark couldn't tell what exactly Lethe was doing. In truth, she was attempting to discipline her mind. Zihark closed his eyes, and was able to detect a large sum of powerful men coming at them.

"Tibarn. 500 kilometers away. Enemy units at 2 o'clock. They're coming in fast. By the sound of it, they're all Dracoknights, though I don't know how skilled. 50 in all, 15 blade users, 8 lancers, 10 axe wielders, 12 mages, assorted, including healers, and 5 archers." Janaff and Uiki, who were not transformed, flew close to Tibarn to talk to Zihark, and neither looked happy.

"Who are you trying to fool? We are the eyes and ears of the great Hawk King. If we can't inform him of an approaching enemy, what makes you think you can?!" Asked Janaff.

"I...have my methods." Said Zihark.

"Yeah? I say you have a good imagination. Tibarn sir, I'm sorry but I don't trust him." Said Janaff. Lethe growled almost silently, but Uiki heard it of course. Then however, he turned his gaze in the direction that Zihark had specified.

"Uiki? What's wrong?" Asked Janaff.

"Instead of using your mouth to criticize, point your eyes in the 2 o'clock direction. I hear heavy wingbeats, 50 pairs of dragon wings. They aren't Goldoan however, based on the way the air seems to disperse. It's slightly different from the way it does so for Goldoans. Now hurry up and look!" Yelled Uiki. Janaff did so, and his mouth was soon agape.

"15 swords, 8 lances, 10 axes, 12 robed units, and five bows.... He was right!" The Dracoknights soon came into the view of Tibarn, who asked,

"So what now? Zihark, you saw them before anyone else. Do you know anything else?"

"Yeah. Based on their formation, Their leader has some great importance in this strategy they're using. That importance is not direct combat, however, as many of the knights have created a box formation around him. I suspect, based on this, that the leader is spiritually aware. He troubles me, somehow." Explained Zihark.

"Bah, just go in there and take out the leader! Come on, Zihark I'll even go with you!" Yelled Lethe.

"Lethe..." Whispered Zihark, harshly.

"What is she talking about? And while I'm at it, what are you hiding?! Spiritual awareness? How come I've never heard of that?!" Asked Janaff.

"Because you don't read." Said Tibarn.

"You know of this nonsense?" Asked Janaff.

"Yes, and you know if I know of it then it's not nonsense. In fact, it is very real." Said Tibarn.

"Really? Well perhaps this obnoxious swordsman could demonstrate this to us then?" Asked Janaff.

"Janaff, for being gifted with such sight you really don't see much sometimes." Admitted Tibarn.

"What?" Was all Janaff could respond with.

"Zihark has been demonstrating his own spiritual awareness the whole time. That's how he knew there were persuers so far away. He didn't see them, he sensed them, and as I'm sure you know, seeing something far away isn't always reliable. It's not always clear how soon you have to react. This is very different. Zihark is able to sense others apparently, which can be much more accurate than seeing with your eyes." Said Tibarn. Janaff had nothing to say, and then Lethe suddenly piped up,

"Come on, Zihark let's go!" Said Lethe.

"But what if Sotile finds out about this if we go? It's not a risk I'd like to take!" Said Zihark.

"But if the enemy is already becoming people who can do it, doesn't that suggest the enemy might already know this?" Asked Lethe.

"No, it means the enemy is expecting us to be helpless against whatever they have planned." Said Zihark.

"Well we can't play that game, or we might end up actually being helpless! With or without you, I'm going!" Yelled Lethe. She then jumped from Tibarn's back, making Janaff think she'd lost it, and as the young-looking hawk started after the cat, he saw her stop her own fall. With a laugh from Lethe and a look of shock from Janaff, the catgirl took off toward the enemy force.

"Lethe, wait!" Yelled Zihark. Then, with a loud growl of frustration, he took off after Lethe. Tibarn sighed in slight irritation at the sight of this. As Zihark and Lethe got closer to the force, the unit at the front saw them and froze.

"S-s-s-" He started.

"Shut it." Said Lethe, she then held her left hand up, with index and middle fingers extended, in front of her face. Something seemed to sparkle above them, and then she swished them forward until they were pointing at the enemy group.

"Sub-humaaaaaaaaa!!!" Yelled the leading unit, having started to say Sub-human, but being cut off by his own agonized scream. Shortly after the scream, light came from the enemy's mouth, and then his body started to glow as it was slowly obliterated. Lethe saw the horrific scene with a satisfied smile on her face, until something seemed to click. She was suddenly surprised, and Zihark, growled to himself, knowing exactly what happened.

"Lethe, fall back! As your teacher i command you to return to the Hawks! You are not to use your power, at all, for the rest of the day! Do you understand?" Asked Zihark.

"What? But I want to help!" Said Lethe.

"You won't help anyone being the unbalanced wreck you are! I said fall back! I'll handle this!" Yelled Zihark.

"No!!!" Yelled Lethe.

"Stop being so stubborn and FALL BACK!!" Yelled Zihark. Instead, Lethe started to continue fighting.

"I won't let you die here Lethe. Forgive me, Stefan, I know you said not to, but I see no other way." Said Zihark, to himself. His eyes glowed white, and he held his hands out in Lethe's direction. Something seemed to come out of them, something that went straight at the catgirl. She saw it too late, and thus it hit her. When it did, she suddenly couldn't move.

"What the-" She asked.

"Okay, she can still speak. She has a stronger will than even I thought. I have to act fast, or this could get ugly." Said Zihark. He made a hand motion toward himself, and Lethe suddenly started floating in his direction.

"Zihark?! You did this? Why?" Asked Lethe,

"Because you wouldn't listen to me. Now, if there are no other questions...." The Trueblade made another motion, and Lethe was sent in the direction of Tibarn.

"I'm sorry. I will get to the bottom of this, but until then, I won't let you see battle." Said Zihark, talking to himself but referring to Lethe as if talking to her. He then turned toward the enemy group, and sighed before smiling and saying,

"Come on, I am perfectly ready."

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More trouble for Zihark to deal with.


	9. Corruption of Beorc

Chapter 9: Corruption of Beorc

Zihark was instantly assaulted by the enemy units. The Trueblade dodged and weaved past his adversaries, wanting no more than to end this squabble as soon as possible and thus going straight for the leader. Three Dracoknights got in his way as he was closing the gap between him and the leader. Zihark got past them easily, but then, as he saw the leader he froze.

"It can't be...." Was all he was able to say before the Dracolord swung at him with a Silver Axe. The swing was a perfect arc, with nary a flaw in sight, and in fact Zihark just barely managed to dodge by moving back. The Dracolord quickly switched to a Tomahawk at that point. With not much more than a flick of the wrist, the axe was thrown at Zihark. The Trueblade went up to avoid it, but the speed of the axe caused it to nick one of his legs on its trip. It then returned to the Dracolord. Zihark had been analyzing the enemy's actions out of suspicion, and he had suddenly come to a dreadful conclusion.

"Haar?" He asked the grotesque, hardly-human astride a dragon that Zihark recognized as Haar's steed. This confirmed his fears, and those fears only increased as he recalled something Lethe had told him.

_~flashback~_

_Lethe had led Zihark out to somewhere private, and even though she had a determined look on her face, Zihark could sense regret. When they stopped, Lethe turned to face the Trueblade and sighed._

_"Zihark, can I trust you to keep what I'm going to tell you between us?:" She asked. Zihark didn't like the sound of this, and he asked Lethe seriously,_

_"I'm going to be an uncle aren't I?" That earned him a slap._

_"No no NO! Not even close!" Yelled Lethe._

_"Alright, so what is it?" Asked Zihark._

_"I think I'm losing myself." Said Lethe, bluntly yet fearfully._

_"What do you mean?" Asked Zihark. To this, Lethe's response was to hold out an arm and point at a series of puncture wounds in an unmistakable arrangement._

_"You bit yourself in the arm?" He asked. Lethe nodded, but then warned,_

_"It is not to be taken lightly. I almost killed Janaff before I inflicted this wound upon myself. I just barely managed it."_

_"Why your arm?" Asked Zihark._

_"Because, a weird symbol was there." Said Lethe. She then started crying, and Zihark couldn't understand why._

_~end flashback~_

Looking at the twisted image of Haar, he noticed that the symbol was on the Dracoknight's forehead. A look of determination suddenly showed on Zihark's face, and after dodging another axe throw, he closed in and drew his sword, stabbing it at the symbol. He drew blood, a lot of blood, and made a realization that almost made him puke. What he stabbed was alive, though it was now dead. As he took his sword away, he dodged the Tomahawk on its return. Haar caught it, even though he seemed to be in a daze.

"This guy is somethin' else." Said Zihark. Haar seemed to stir slightly, and slowly his appearance returned to normal. At the same time, every Dracoknight regained their human bodies. Following that, Zihark started to go off in the direction of TIbarn, when he heard heavy snoring. Snickering, Zihark slowly approached the Dracolord. He inhaled silently, only to have Haar open one eye. Zihark didn't stop until he heard the man's voice.

"Scream and I'll carve out your throat." This stopped Zihark cold.

"Uh, good to see you too, Haar." He said. Haar smirked, but that smirk soon faded when his mount started getting antsy.

"What's wrong with him?" Asked Zihark.

"She doesn't like blood. Something's wrong. Where at, girl?" Asked Haar.

"...Girl?" Asked Zihark. Haar simply nodded, then when the mount motioned in the direction of the blood, Zihark followed her gaze, and realized that,

"...I'm too late."

"Too late? For what?" Asked Haar.

"The Laguz named Lethe is having the same problem you just got over, apparently." Said Zihark. Haar tried to act his stoic self, but his fist was clenched so hard it was shaking. Zihark saw this and asked,

"Are you alright sir?" Haar looked at Zihark, then his clenched fist, and relaxed before saying,

"Sorry. I really can't hide it. Jill has developed a fondness of Laguz, and-"

"Jill? You mean Jill who came after us at Toha?" Asked Zihark.

"Well you know as well as I do that Ike changed her as he did so many." Said Haar.

"I know, but I always thought that she joined with Ike for more personal reasons." Said Zihark.

"That's what she said it started out as, but if you recall, she even went through the trouble of getting me on your side." Said Haar.

"True." Admitted Zihark.

"Now whaddya say we go find Lethe." Said Haar.

"We?" Asked Zihark.

"Well, if I returned to Jill with a debt, let's just say in the past when that happened she stopped what she was doing and said nothing more than 'Get your mount, and meet me outside'." When Zihark heard this, he was speechless.

"Let's just go." Said Haar.

"Right." Said Zihark. They were off, and before long Haar said,

"So what was your girlfriend like?" Zihark stopped right then. Haar knew he had hit a sensitive spot, though Jill hadn't been very specific on that point. Zihark soon looked at Haar, and said only,

"I don't want to talk about it." Haar nodded in understanding, and they continued toward where Lethe had apparently gone. As they got close, Zihark saw two weakened Laguz facing off, as well as two Laguz down.

'Lethe did all this?' Thought Zihark.

"Lethe, I'm not going to fight you." Said Tibarn, through pants. Lethe merely growled. She bared her fangs, seemingly to appear more menacing. Zihark however, saw much more than that. The cat lunged at Tibarn, preparing to bite the Hawk.

"Tibarn, don't let her bite you!" Yelled Zihark. Tibarn quickly reverted to his Demibeorc state, and punched the cat away. Lethe's jaws were forced together as Tibarn's fist connected with her chin, and that connection caused a small spray of poison.

"That's not normal." Said Tibarn.

"Right now, she's not normal." Said Haar. Suddenly, Zihark heard a voice in his head. The man closed his eyes, and could see Lethe clearly.

"Zihark, what's happening? Is it what I think it is?" Asked the catgirl.

"Yes, whether or not you want to, you're attacking an ally." Said Zihark.

"Who?" Asked Lethe.

"You're attacking Tibarn, and you're winning." Said Zihark.

"How?!" Asked Lethe.

"He's not fighting back." Said Zihark.

"Tell him to fight!" Yelled Lethe.

"All right." Said Zihark

"You remember what I showed you before?" Asked Lethe.

"Yeah." Said Zihark. Suddenly, the image of Lethe started to become fuzzy.

"Sorry, I'm being cut off. I'm counting on you to convince Tibarn." She said. Zihark nodded and said,

"You can count on me." Then she was gone from his head.

Meanwhile...

Ike was sitting on a stump. They had been sitting still for a few days, and the commander was getting irritated as he saw the sun start to set once again.

"Is everyone ready to go YET?!" He asked. Everyone assembled, ready to move. Well, almost everyone. Lyre, Shinon, and Zet were missing. Suddenly, Shinon's voice yelled from the forest,

"YOU WANT ME TO WHAT!?!?!" Moments later, Lyre appeared from the forest with a large bump on her head. Immediately following was Zet, who's face was beet red. After a few minutes, Shinon jumped out of the trees, looked left and right, then forward.

"Aha! Don't go thinking you can hide behind the commander, you damn Sub-Human!" He yelled. Lyre cringed at the harsh words, and Ike put an arm out, as if to offer himself as a shield. Shinon merely growled at this, and readied his bow. As he pulled an arrow from his quiver, he yelled,

"Out of the way Ike, or you're first! Nothing personal, I just never liked the use of shields!"

"Shinon, put that away!" Shinon growled more as he notched the arrow, then drew his bow. As the string could be heard straining, Ike yelled,

"Shinon stop! Just, stop and tell me what's up!"

"Me? Tell you what's up?! No, I think I'll let the animal humiliate herself. I don't go that far." Shinon put away his bow, then the arrow, and waited with his arms crossed.

"Well go on, _animal_, tell the commander all about your little antics in the forest. I'm sure with the commander's _love_ of-" Shinon then cleared his throat, and tried to put on the most innocent face he could for the next word,

"Laguz-" The Marksman then went back to normal instantly,

"He'll believe every word of whatever lie you end up telling him." Ike was looking at Shinon strangely, thinking,

'He's lost it!' Regardless, he looked to Lyre next, and reached a hand out to her. Lyre cringed, and Ike wasn't sure why. He ran his hand gently through her hair, just trying to make her feel good physically. After that, Ike finally got to the question.

"Lyre, what happened beyond those trees?" Lyre froze just then. Meanwhile, Shinon had gone to Soren, and told him that,

"What she's trying to keep secret, is literally behind her back. Specifically between it and her shirt." That got Soren curious, as much as he hated to admit it. With a sigh he made a swishing movement with his hand, toward Lyre, and without doing anything else summoned some wind. It wasn't one of his wind spells, mind you, it was more like a strong breeze. Still, it was all that was needed to get the desired effect. Suddenly, Ranulf wasn't sure if he wanted to cover his mouth so he coouldn't yell, or his eyes so he couldn't see what he wanted to yell about. While the blue cat was having that odd predicament, Shinon was having a hard laughing fit, and Soren was surprisingly just barely able to keep himself from laughing. Soon, however, he could hold it in no more, and joined Shinon in his fit of laughter.

"Times sure do change, huh?" Asked Shinon through laughter.

"Yeah, who would have thought one of the oh-so-proud cats would reduce _herself_ to the level of a housepet?!" Asked Soren, also through laughter.

"Lower than a housepet, my friend, lower than a housepet!" Exclaimed Shinon, as he and Soren started to calm down. Ike was looking at Shinon with a raised eyebrow for no more than three seconds before he understood. He didn't want anyone to know he understood, however, until he knew 100% that he was correct.

"Lyre, turn around so I can see what has everyone so riled up." He said.

"Ike no, please don't make me...." Whimpered Lyre. She sounded absolutely pitiful, to which Ranulf scoffed.

'So much for the great Lyre.' He thought. Ike tried again,

"Lyre, turn around." He had a more commanding voice this time.

"B-but you'll tell my sister!" Cried Lyre. Ranulf growled in absolute disgust, and stormed toward Lyre. When he was right behind her, he forced Lyre's whole body to turn to face him. With a combination growl and sigh, Ranulf tilted Lyre's head up so their eyes met.

"Now listen up, Lyre. By making yourself look bad you make me look bad. You do NOT want to go there! Now suck it up and show Commander Ike what you're so desperately trying to hide! Trust me I'm being nice, but I can tell Ike myself if you want me to." He said. Lyre couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"You brought this on yourself Lyre." Said Ranulf.

"Yeah, you brought this on yourself...pussycat!" Said Shinon, before laughing again. Lyre immediately transformed and started to lunge at Shinon, but she was stopped suddenly, and landed flat on the ground. Looking back, she saw Ike's face, an almost cold expression, and cringed. Ike then looked up at Ranulf, and asked,

"How long have you known about this?"

"About a month." Said Ranulf. Ike's gaze returned to Lyre, who had since shifted back.

"What are we going to do with you? You know Gallia does not approve of Beorc enslaving Laguz. What would his majesty have to say to you now?"

"I...I don't think I want to know...." Said Lyre. Ranulf threw his arms up in frustration. Looking around, he saw Soren and walked over, whispering something into the mage's ear.

"Tempting, but I'm not exactly ecstatic about being a canidate for Lethe's shitlist. And I just know that will end up happening. Said Soren.

"What? What's tempting? Ranulf, what are you suggesting to that scrawny disgusting mage?" Asked Lyre. Turning to face Lyre, Soren shook a fist at her, then seemed to instantly calm down and look...happy. Lyre didn't like where this was going.

"I'll do it. Someone's got to put the naughty kitty in her place." Said Soren, then looking at Lyre strangely. Lyre gulped heavily, and when Soren beckoned Lyre to him she shook her head in defiance. In response, Soren walked over to Lyre and Ike, and the catgirl could tell that the tactical mage did not have good intentions in mind. As he got close, he took the leash from Ike, knelt down in front of Lyre, who was in a crouched position, and reached into a knapsack. From this pack he pulled a Demi Band, which he put around Lyre's wrist. The catgirl had tried to resist, but to no avail under the mage's grasp. Lyre could feel her transformation being forced, though she tried to resist it. Before long the catgirl was a cat, and she immediately glared at and growled at Soren. She tried to attack, but was stopped in mid-attack. While Lyre kept trying to attack Soren, Ike groaned and said,

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to hear the end of this? I don't even know the whole story!"

"Don't worry, Ike. I'll tell you." Said Shinon, who had made his way over to the commander while he was seemingly lost in a world of despair. Looking at Shinon, Ike asked,

"Really? That doesn't seem like you."

"You're right, it doesn't does it? Well, see you later, _commander_." Said Shinon, who then walked away. Ike sighed, and said,

"I should have known." Then looking back at the group, he made an announcement.

"Alright! It's getting late! Get some sleep, we leave at first light tomorrow! Remember, the longer we sit still, the more likely we are to become a target! Back to your tents!" Everyone started to head back, and as Ike saw Ranulf, he ran to the Laguz.

"Alright Ranulf. What did you tell Soren?"

"Well I just figured Shinon wouldn't want anything to do with Lyre, so I thought Soren was next best, so-" Said Ranulf.

"Get to the point, Ranulf!" Yelled Ike.

"I asked Soren to show Lyre why she shouldn't want to be a slave." Admitted Ranulf.

"You did WHAT? Oh boy, Lethe is gonna have your head." Said Ike.

"Calm down, you know she can't catch me!" Said Ranulf.

"That isn't the point!" Yelled Ike.

"So then what IS the point?" Asked Ranulf.

"The point is...oh nevermind! Go to your tent, would you?" Asked Ike.

"...Alright." Said Ranulf before slowly trudging toward camp. Ike heaved a frustrated sigh, then asked,

"Why do I always get caught up in utter nonsense?" He then returned to camp, just wishing what happened that day was a dream so it could be over and done with.

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Oh boy, what have I done.... EVERYONE IS SO FAR OUT OF CONTEXT!!! Oh well, I like it that way. I can't make characters in context to save my life! Just so everyone knows, what happened at Ike's camp in this chapter was not pointless filler. I intend to bring it up again sometime later, I juat have to decide how much later.


	10. Dual Rescue Mission

Chapter 10: Dual Rescue Mission

The sun was rising, and Tibarn was getting even weaker. He simply tried to evade and talk to Lethe, tried to talk her out of it. However, she obviously didn't want to talk, or actually, though Tibarn didn't know it, she couldn't. Zihark sighed before yelling Tibarn's way,

"There's some kind of bug on her right forearm Tibarn! Kill it and she'll return to normal!"

"Oh? That's all I need to do?" Asked Tibarn, dodging another attack shortly after. He looked at the indicated location, and growled in frustration, yelling as he continued evasive tactics,

"Hey! There's nothing there!" This shocked Zihark, but it didn't last long because he sensed Kurthnaga approaching. It didn't take long before he came into view, and when he did he changed to his Demibeorc form and dropped from the sky. He landed on his feet and ran forward, stopping beside Zihark and yelling to Tibarn,

"Knock her unconscious! That's the best way to reveal that kind of parasite! It is revealed when the host is unconscious, asleep, or dead!" Tibarn looked at the dragon, then at Lethe, and took up a new stance, going on the offensive. Lethe however, had had enough, and ran into the forest. Zihark gasped as she heard the cat, clearly fighting in the distance, and then the sounds died down and were replaced by Lethe running through the mossy-floored forest. Out of the forest at the location where Lethe disappeared, Naesala came out, rubbing the back of his head. He sighed and said,

"Sorry, I wasn't fully truthful with you. That Sotile character was wasting his time fighting a fake me actually. The real me was watching from above. I can't believe he didn't notice me, but I'm lucky he didn't. Oh, but get this. I found out the reason why he wouldn't die at the Dragon Palace. He was actually a fake Sotile, and considering that, we have one hell of a predicament on our hands. You see, the ability to create a fake cuts your full strength by 25%, and that strength is what the fake has. When the fake is destroyed in whatever way, the strength is returned to you. In other words, the real Sotile is four times as strong as that fake we all struggled against." Zihark stared, but after a while he said,

"Oh great, and on top of that the guy's spiritually aware. That's the only way he could make a fake of himself. So does anyone else get the feeling that they know this Sotile character?"

"Not as far as I know. Why?" Asked Naesala.

"Because he looked...familiar...." Said Zihark. He then gasped and said,

"It can't be!"

Meanwhile...

At Ike's camp, everyone was ready to move. With a wave of Ike's arm from up front, the group continued deeper into Gallia, though they planned to head further south into Goldoa. Their hope was that they could meet up with Lethe and whoever she had been travelling with before Sotile and whatever thugs he had with him found her first. As the group continued its trek, Ranulf insisted on keeping his distance from Lyre. In fact he wanted no more to do with her as of that point. This realization upset Lyre greatly, and she hung her head as she walked behind Soren. Before they reached what had been determined as the turning point of the journey, Lyre, Ranulf, and surprisingly Ike, felt as though something was amiss.

"Everyone, let's tighten the formation." Said Ike.

"Yeah, good call commander! I was thinking the exact same thing! Something is definitely wrong, and we don't want to be ambushed so far apart from each other." Said Ranulf.

"What are you talking about? We probably just scared any would-be adversaries off, that's all!" Said Shinon.

"Uh, Shinon, I really think we should listen to Ike. He's never steered us wrong before." Said Gatrie.

"Are you crazy? By siding with him you're siding with those damn Sub-Humans!" Yelled Shinon.

"I don't care who I'm siding with Shinon, as long as I get to keep myself alive! Stop being difficult! And for your information, they are not Sub-Humans! They are Laguz! Just because they aren't hu-I mean Beorc, does not make them any less great than us! If anything, they should be calling Beorc Sub-Laguz, not Human; especially scum like you! At least then it would be a worthy argument!" Yelled Gatrie. Shinon was shocked and speechless, but as he regained his composure, he yelled,

"Fine! You can all rot in hell when the Sub-Humans put you there! That's exactly what'll happen! I'm outta here." And with that he stormed off. Gatrie growled, and said,

"People like him are the only things keeping Beorc and Laguz seperated." Ike was shocked at the argument, but soon ran over to Gatrie. Patting him on the shoulder, he asked the armored man,

"Is it safe to assume that you'll help me see this through?"

"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way commander." Said Gatrie. Ike smiled, and then heard Gatrie again, this time talking to Ranulf.

"Hey Ranulf! One of these times we stop could I speak to you privately?" Ranulf cocked an eyebrow, confused, though he couldn't help but smile.

"Sure. I think I can trust you enough for that." He said. Gatrie smiled back, and then Ike cleared his throat.

"We keep losing time. Can we get going soon?"

"We can go now if you're ready." Said Gatrie. Ike sighed and smiled, then they were back on the move. They had agreed to huddle together to decrease the risk of getting seperated, and as they continued, Rolf was now feeling really down that his teacher had deserted the company. Boyd went to check on him, and tried to console him by telling Rolf to 'forget that jerk'. Yet all it did was make matters worse. As the sun was starting to set, they had reached the turning point, when suddenly a deep, gruff voice came from afar.

"Sir Ike! Please wait!" Ike turned to face the source of the voice, and saw none other than the Gallian king's loyal shadow, Giffca.

"What is it, sir?" Asked Ike. As Giffca got closer and slowed to a stop, he said to Ike,

"I'm sorry to interrupt whatever you're doing, but Gallia has a crisis right now, and we need all the help we can get. I sincerely apologize to hold you up, but I sought you out immediately when I heard the Greil Mercenaries were within our borders."

"A detour to help an ally in need? I can live with that, but we have a bit of a problem. Hmm.... I'll take a fraction of the company and follow you to Gallia, the rest will continue south." Said Ike. Giffca smiled, and stood back to let them decide how they would divide.

"Soren, I'm counting on you to lead the journey to Goldoa. Can you handle it?" Asked Ike. Soren nodded before saying,

"Of course commander. I'll take Titania, Gatrie, and Mia. The main threat is no doubt in Gallia right now, so everyone else is yours to command Ike." Ike looked at everyone who was going with Soren and said to them,

"Remember, Soren is leading the three of you. I don't want any complaints. Is everyone okay with their duty?" The entirety of the Greil Mercenary company yelled,

"Yes sir!" Ike nodded, and then turned to Giffca, who said

"I thank you for your help. The palace is the main point of concern, unfortunately. His majesty is in no danger yet, but our most experienced fighters are struggling as we speak to keep the threat from entering the palace itself. He appears to be beorc, from what reports say."

"Beorc? No way!" Said Lyre, though in her current form only Giffca could understand her. Giffca looked at Lyre, then saw the leash, which his eyes followed to Soren. Growling, GIffca said,

"I should have expected it to be only a matter of time. So you finally show your true colors, eh? Lowly Halfbreed!"

"Giffca?" Asked Lyre, suddenly feeling uneasy about the situation. She had heard the term Parentless before, but Halfbreed? Then it happened; in a flash Giffca was lunging at Soren as a Lion, and as Soren stood there in shock, Lyre observed the situation, and lunged forward. As she did, she intercepted Giiffca, taking the hard hit for Soren. She tumbled away until she stopped on her belly, groaning and struggling to stand.

"Giff...ca. Don't blame...the mage..." Lyre said through heaving breaths. She coughed violently, spewing small amounts of blood.

"Lyre!" Yelled Soren, feeling an unusual amount of concern, considering that he wasn't feeling it for Ike's sake. He ran to the cat's side, checking for injuries. He found a few broken bones, but nothing more serious than that.

"You...protected me?" Asked Soren, confused and full of a sense of guilt. He removed the Demiband in case there was something Lyre wanted to say.

"Heh...no sweat. I'm the one on the leash, anyway...remember?" Said Lyre.

"That...that shouldn't matter. Come on Lyre, listen to what you're saying! I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let myself be talked into this, and because I did, Giffca could have killed you." Said Soren.

"You know as well as I do that I can take a hit like that a lot...a lot more easily than you can." Said Lyre, beginning to calm down her breathing. While this was going on, Giffca was confused.

"Hey Giffca, what's wrong with you? I'll have you know that Soren helped me help Lyre not too long ago. The rest of the Greil Mercenaries were asleep, and even though Soren was unbelievably busy he offered to help me. Lyre and I had been seperated, and Lyre was found by some slavers. Soren was the deciding factor of Lyre's fate that day, and here you try to attack him like he's at fault!" Yelled Ranulf. Ike had no idea what Ranulf was talking about, so he decided to change the subject.

"And the fact remains that Soren is a Greil Mercenary. If you had injured him, who would I be able to trust to lead the fraction to Goldoa. Now I don't know how dire the situation at the palace is, but there's a chance we won't be able to stop whoever this invader is unless we hurry."

"Before we do, Soren, release Lyre." Said Giffca. Soren was shocked that the lion had the gall to start ordering him around.

"Not on your command!" Yelled Soren, defiantly.

"Soren, calm down." Said Ranulf. Giffca turned to Ranulf and said,

"You seem to be on good terms with Soren. Have Soren release Lyre, would you?"

"Sorry Giffca, but based on the circumstances I don't think it's my place, or yours for that matter, to decide whether or not Lyre gets off the leash. I'll tell you why later, but for now we need to hurry to the palace." Said Ranulf. With everyone finally in agreement on that, the majority of the Greil Mercenaries followed Giffca to the palace.

'His majesty will not be pleased.' Thought the lion. Soren, left with Titania, Gatrie, Mia, and Lyre, said to them,

"Okay, we have our orders. To Goldoa!"

Sorry it took so long. I finished this chapter a while ago but circumstances prevented me from putting it up until this moment. What is Zihark thinking? Where did Lethe go? Will Lyre be okay after what happened? What will Caineghis say about Lyre? All these questions and perhaps more, to be answered in the next chapter! Oh, and this chapter has only the first referrence to what happened in Chapter 9.


	11. The Diversion

Chapter 11: The Diversion

Soren led his temporary branch of the Mercenaries south, and the group that was with Lethe before she ran off was continuing north, sure that she was headed toward Sotile. Tibarn stopped suddenly, and turned to Zihark, saying,

"Okay Zihark. Who do you think this villain is?"

"Well, I don't know for sure, but all the evidence points toward Stefan's naive brother. He is named Sotile, and his curiosity caused him to discover spiritual awareness, which he taught to Stefan. If it is him, then the true enemy is Gurugant, not its wielder. Anyway, I'm detecting a massive lump of spiritual energy at the Gallian Palace. It's gotta be him!" Kurthnaga growled, and said,

"We have to hurry. that man already used Gurugant to kill Gareth. We can't let him get anyone else."

"He got Gareth?! Damn!" Said Zihark.

"Yes, so let's go! We're bound to find Lethe, since Sotile is manipulating the Goldoan Beetles and using their parasitic lifestyle with his spiritual energy to induce some kind of mind control. Those who have the beetles in them are under Sotile's control, or if Zihark is right, under Gurugant's control." Explained Kurthnaga. Tibarn growled at that new bit of information, as did Haar. When his mount started acting up, however, everyone stopped. Kurth approached her and started talking dragon, without being in his dragon form. They conversed, and when the mount motioned toward the east, Kurth looked in that direction and saw a Dracoknight with a bleeding mount. Based on the appearance, everyone knew who it was immediately.

"Jill!" Yelled Haar, ushering his mount to fly to the female dracoknight. As he closed in, the black-armored dracomaster noticed that Jill was bleeding somewhat as well. Most of the blood coming from the pair, however, was dragon blood. Jill was panting, and Haar picked her up to place her behind him on his mount and give her mount some relief. Jill's mount was led to the group, and once there Kurth looked over the green dragon. It groaned as Kurth rubbed the wound with his hand. Jill tried to stop the black dragon by saying to him,

"You're hurting him!" Kurth sighed and looked at Jill, who was confused. In the hopes that she would understand, Kurthnaga said to the girl,

"Your steed bit itself. I'm trying to see if the reason is what I think it is." After some thinking, Tibarn looked to Kurthnaga and asked,

"These beetles, they aren't completely silent, are they?" Kurth simply replied,

"I doubt that information would help, so if you please-" Tibarn then yelled,

"Would you answer the question?!"

"Okay okay, you're right. They do make little sounds as they're climbing around inside a host. Why?" Asked Kurth. Tibarn smiled, and looked toward his 'ears', Uiki. The hawk understood immediately, and stepped forward. Looking over the wounded dragon, Uiki knelt and listened for anything that could indicate that a beetle was still inside. He listened for a while, and then turned to Tibarn and said,

"All I hear is the natural things. Breathing, a heartbeat, but nothing that sounds like scratching. That's the kind of sound I'd expect from a beetle climbing. But no, nothing. I believe if there was one, it's left the-..." He fell silent then, just kneeling there, as if he's focused intently on something. Tibarn stared at him for a while, and then said,

"Uiki?" Uiki snapped his head toward Tibarn and put a finger over his lips, telling his majesty to be silent. Uiki raised his other hand, with two fingers extended, and plunked something off of the mount's thigh. Looking at it briefly, he snarled and squeezed it until it popped like a zit. Throwing it to the ground, he said,

"These things are an abomination!" Jill looked at the dead beetle, and sighed before asking,

"That thing was inside my steed?" Kurthnaga nodded, causing Jill to groan uneasily. Before long, however, the young dragon king had a hopeful glint in his eyes. This glint soon turned into a sheen as he exclaimed,

"Dragon's Blood!" Naesala was confused, and he showed it when he asked,

"Uh, is that some kind of Goldoan code word? Dragon's Blood? Huh, what can that mean?"

"No no no. Dragon's Blood as it literal dragon's blood! It's how we'll cure those who have been infected by the Goldoan Beetles! You see, the beetles bite their host many times throughout their incredibly long lives. However, Dragon's Blood is toxic to them. My hunch is that Sotile chose to use the beetles because they feed on blood from the inside of their host so frequently, and if that's the case, the pulse of energy that induces the mind control must be only temporary." Explained Kurth.

"Oh yeah!" Said Zihark. "Haar used to be a beetle's host, but when I killed it, he almost immediately returned to normal." Soren and his little band approached the group that Lethe left just then, and Soren looked around. Naesala was confused again, and asked,

"Hey, aren't you that little mage who's always with Ike? Where is Ike by the way, we have some important information for him."

"Ike isn't with me right now. He sent me down here to get Lethe while he investigates something happening in Gallia's palace involving a strange Beorc." Explained Soren. Zihark gasped softly, and asked Soren,

"Strange Beorc? It has to be Sotile. Soren, this is really bad. We have to go back up Ike, NOW!" Soren was confused, and said to Zihark,

"Okay, though I don't see what the problem is. Ike's the best swordsman in the world!"

"Big talk, considering he's not. Sotile is Stefan's little brother, and he's a much better swordsman than even Stefan. On top of that, he has Gurugant, or rather, Gurugant has him. Gurugant has possessed Sotile, and it now has the power to draw tthe life force from those it slays. It uses the life force to make itself stronger. It's taken down multiple victims, including Gareth!" Explained Zihark. Soren was speechless, but before long he clenched his fists and muttered,

"Ike...don't die on me." He then said in a much louder voice, "Follow me everyone." He started to go back north, but was stopped by Jill. Looking into the girl's eyes, he seemed to understand, and looked around. Spotting the green dragon, Soren nodded and ran to it. He pulled out his Mend Staff, and started praying for the dragon's wellbeing. As the wounds closed, the mount's closed eyes opened. Looking at its closed wounds, then at Soren, the first thing it did after getting up was lick Soren, somewhat to the mage's distaste. Looking around, the Branded asked,

"Is that everything?" Nobody said anything that was amiss, and so Soren started the trek back to the Gallian Palace.

Meanwhile...

Ike and co. continued to follow Giffca toward the palace. Giffca had explained that many of their soldiers have been cut down by the invader's only sword. The fact that he has a sword was enough for Ike to understand that the invader was half Beorc at least. They were almost there, and then something got in their way. Ike believed it to be a plan to stall them, which can only mean that they're being expected. Ike smirked, figuring it to be just like any other opponent and drew Ragnell, quickly slicing through air, causing a beam-like mass of energy to spring from the sword and soar toward the enemy. However, a powerful suit of thick armor ensured that the enemy almost didn't feel it. It did generate a cloud of dust from the sheer force of the attack, but when it cleared Ike gasped at the fact that the enemy wasn't effected. It stepped forward and brandished a Spear, which it threw at Ike. The powerful hero knocked the spear aside with a sweep of his sword, and then followed up by using Ragnell's beam attack again. It was more powerful this time, but the enemy used its large shield to resist all damage from the attack. Ike growled at the realization that whoever was at the palace seemed to know the extent of Ragnell. That's the only way he could think of in which the invader could send a unit strong enough to resist the legendary sword. The enemy put the Spear away, and took out a Killer Lance. Ike growled again, but then, after thinking briefly, he put Ragnell away to pit his father's powerful weapon Urvan against the armored brute instead. Charging forward, Ike raised the axe above his head with a yell, and then as he prepared to bring it down, he yelled,

"Take this!" The axe connected with the enemy's Killer Lance, and the enemy's weapon broke in a rather short time. This allowed Urvan to continue, and with the armored unit unable to raise his shield in time, the axe sliced through the thick armor protecting the foe's chest. Ike struggled to twist the axe in order to inflict more damage, and finally managed it. With the axe rotated 90 degrees, Ike pulled it in the direction that followed the curve of the blade, slicing the enemy again as it was dislodged from the armor. The armored unit fell over without a sound except the resulting crash, and then with a series of loud cracks the armor fell apart, the mass within the suit being a horrifying one. Luminescent purple ooze is all that was inside the armor, yet it had fought like the most skilled of Generals. Ike reached toward the ooze slowly, but before he got close, Giffca cautioned him,

"Be careful Ike, it might still be alive."

"Well, if it ever was alive it's not now It doesn't move. There's nothing to-" Said Ike, only to be cut off when something slimy had grabbed his arm. He looked at his arm and yelled in surprise, dropping Urvan. He reached for Ragnell, only to drop that as well as a burning sensation surged up his arm. He screamed and pulled at the grip of whatever the purple thing was, but he couldn't get loose. Boyd gripped his axe and started to charge forward, only to stop when Giffca yelled,

"Wait!"

"Wait? Why?! Are you crazy?" Asked Boyd. Giffca kept a serious face, but said,

"Perhaps I am. Wait here, I shall be the one to save Master Ike." With that, he turned into his Lion form and charged forward, lunging at the slimy tendril that gripped at Ike's arm and ripping it in his jaws, causing the small part left on Ike's arm to die. It dissolved quickly, leaving Ike with a minor chemical burn. The ooze grabbed at Giffca then, and dragged him into the armor. Ike gasped and shook his head as the armor was repaired with Giffca and the ooze inside, but as he readied Urvan again, The suit of armor, and its contents, disappeared. Ike clenched his fists in frustration, before yelling,

"GIFFCA!!" He was hanging his head as he thought about ways in which what happened could have been prevented, and then Boyd walked up to him, saying,

"Hey buddy, instead of beating yourself up over it, let's just get going! He's bound to be at the palace, considering how close we got to it when we were intercepted." Zet approached Ike as well, and he said to him,

"We should hurry to save GIffca, but we should also be careful. The one who invaded the palace is Sotile. I never told you this Ike, but Sotile is a brother to Stefan. Ever since he found Gurugant, the sword has been calling the shots. If possible we should destroy Gurugant without hurting Sotile too much." Ike sighed, and then nodded. Looking around to his comrades, he shouted,

"To the palace! Let's go!" With cheers of approval, they resumed the small portion left of their trek to the palace of Gallia's Royal Family.

x ......................................................................................................................... x

This time Giffca has been taken prisoner. Will he be slain or enslaved like so many before him, or can Ike and co. rescue him in time to prevent it?


	12. Titan Sword Showdown

Chapter 12: Titan Sword Showdown

Soren, his small division of the mercenaries, and the group who was recently in Goldoa continued to hurry north toward the Gallian Palace. As they went, they ran into occasional interference, but mostly it was stuff unworthy of mention. However, as they neared the Palace, the obstacle that got in their way was a fake Sotile. The group stopped and Soren growled softly before whipping out his Tornado Tome. Flipping it open, he extended his arm and started chanting. A tornado started to whip up, but Sotile just stood there. When the storm was complete it started travelling swiftly in Sotile's direction. Just when it was almost upon him, the possessed Trueblade, or rather his fake, used Gurugant to cut through the tornado, leaving him safe from harm. Soren was in absolute disbelief, which showed when he exclaimed,

"There's no way! A sword cannot slash wind!" Sotile bore a twisted smirk as he raised his sword again, aiming at Soren, who just stood there. Right before the sword came down, There was a blur that came from the nearby trees and stopped in front of Sotile, making its form known to be Stefan, the great Lion-Blooded swordwielder. Using his unique sword, the Vague Katti, Stefan stabbed Sotile in the chest and then, with his sword still in his grip, he backflipped, bringing his sword up and cleaving the top half of Sotile in two in the process. He landed on his feet and pointed his sword at Sotile, before saying,

"I'm sorry my brother. Be it through your will or not you have committed unspeakable crimes. The punishment can be no less severe than death." Suddenly, an arrow was thrown into the air, and out of the forest jumped Shinon. He grabbed the arrow in midair, notched it, and after aiming, he shot it at Sotile. It pierced his head, which had come back together. Landing outside the forest, Shinon growled and yelled,

"Hey, stupid fake! Stay out of our way! We have business with the REAL you!" The fake Sotile simply smiled, after which he laughed, and then vanished without a trace. Shinon growled again, and then looked at Soren, saying,

"Dammit Soren, you're so slow! If wind doesn't work, try something else! I mean seriously! How hard can that be?"

"How hard can it be?" Repeated Soren, He clenched his fists, and glared at Shinon before yelling,

"I'm a WIND sorceror! Sure, I can use other spells, but I can't understand the meaning of the spells in other tomes! If I can't understand them, how do you expect me to put everything I have into casting them? Sometimes I don't even know what I'm casting!" Shinon and Soren continued bickering, to which Tibarn shook his head. Janaff, however, took a more direct approach, saying to Soren,

"Yo! What about Ike, you know, your good friend? Aren't we going to the palace to help him?" Subsequently, Uiki stepped in to tell Shinon,

"And what about your pupil, Rolf? Doesn't his safety matter more than some absolutely pointless fit of bickering?" Immediately, Shinon and Soren looked at each other silently. After a few seconds, they turned away from each other, saying,

"I have no time to deal with you!" Uiki groaned, while Janaff yelled,

"Can we just go?!" Shinon and Soren simultaneously said, "Yes!", and as if in response to that agreement, the fake Sotile dissipated. Naesala groaned and Kurthnaga clenched a fist. Zihark and Stefan, however, were undergoing a brief meditation session. Titania and Mia were looking over their weapons, and finally Gatrie was trying to flirt with Lyre, who refused to show any interest at all. When all necessary preparations were complete, the group continued further north.

Meanwhile...

Ike and his men finally reached Gallia's Palace, and laying outside were several beast tribe soldiers. None of them were dead, which led Ike to believe that Gurugant has to absorb life force that is more potent than normal, or it does the sword no good. Footsteps came from the direction of the palace, and when the one walking appeared from the darkness, it turned out to be Sotile. He was holding Skrimir by the neck, and the proud successor of Caineghis had his head down. He was either unconscious or dead, but it didn't matter to Ike if he was alive. If he was alive, he was in danger, but if he was dead, Gallia was without a successor. Brandishing Ragnell, Ike focused his power into the sword, like he did in his first battle with a Demon Warlord. However, instead of throwing the sword, he simply pointed it at Sotile. With his power flaring around the blade of Ragnell, Ike yelled,

"Radiant Burst!" In response to that call, the mass of Ike's power in Ragnell shot out at Sotile. It caught him by surprise, and when it his him, it exploded, much like the explosion the power created around Ragnell to defeat that first Warlord. When the explosion faded, however, Sotile was unscathed. Ike growled before charging forward, his comrades unable to stop him. Sotile smiled and stood defensively with Gurugant. Ike brought Ragnell above his head, then jumped in the air before bringing it down. When it hit Gurugant, electricity sparked from the clash of titan swords. Gurugant soon declared itself the victor, using a pulse of dark energy to knock Ike back and Ragnell out of his hands. Sotile smiled and pointed Gurugant at Ike, laughed, and said,

"I win Ike. Are you ready for your demise?" Ike growled again, ashamed at himself for the situation he got himself into. Rolf shot arrows at Sotile, but Gurugant produced a shield to deflect them. Rhys tried casting Light Magic on him, but there was no noticable effect. Thinking quickly, Rhys instead used a Rescue scepter to get Ike away from Sotile. Boyd pointed out Ragnell, and Ike rushed toward it. Sotile tried to intercept him, but everyone else who was there and conscious got in his way, all at once. Ike rolled forward, grabbing Ragnell as he did so, and then turned toward Sotile. Oscar was riding around Sotile on horseback, stabbing at him multiple times with a Silver Spear. Sotile looked left and right a couple times, then growled in frustration before screaming. In response to that scream, Gurugant generated a circular pulse of energy that knocked Oscar off of his horse, and both to the ground. Sotile scoffed before Boyd stepped in front of him and unleashed his Collossus attack. This too did nothing noticable. Getting smacked to the side, Boyd groaned before asking,

"What's with this guy? Can't he be beaten?"

"There's always a way...you just have to know it." Said a voice from the trees. Out jumped a familiar face, Lethe, free from the hold of the Goldoan Beetle that was in her before. She hissed at Sotile, then morphed into her cat form. Ike looked at her, and sighed with relief that she was okay even after all this time. The feline lunged at Sotile, only to get knocked away by the villain's free hand. He raised Gurugant, preparing to attack Lethe with the sword's beam attack. Lethe struggled to get up, to get out of the way, but Sotile hit her so hard that she was gasping for breath. She glared at Sotile as he sliced through the air, and just then, a familiar voice yelled,

"Lethe!" This voice was also partnered with an equally familiar rashness. Lethe looked in the direction of the voice, just in time to see Zet about to shove her out of the way. He made it in time for her, but not for herself, and as the beam travelled up Zet's body, his agonized scream was partnered with Lethe screaming the victim's name in her Demibeorc form. The beam soon faded, and as it did, Lethe ran over to Zet and grabbed his hand. Sobbing, she said to him,

"Zet, please don't die." Zet chuckled weakly, and said,

"If I die, I die. No big...deal. Ike! Zihark! Come here!" Ike and Zihark both went to Zet's side, while the rest of the reunited group just watched. Ike looked at Zet and asked him,

"What is it?"

"I don't know how much time I have left, but I need to tell you this in case I don't survive. In order to combat Gurugant at it is now, Alondite and Ragnell must be used in...unison. This partnership of your blades only gives you a chance of victory, but without it, not even that exists. Remember, Alondite and Ragnell are siblings. If used together, that bond will strengthen both. However, distance is a weakness to them. The closer they get, the stronger they become." Explained Zet. He cursed his timing out loud as he clutched his wounded chest, and slowly his eyes closed. Lethe shook her head, but then heard him whisper something. What he said was,

"Lethe, good luck." More tears formed in Lethe's eyes, and then Ike put a hand on her shoulder. Following that, Lethe started crying in Ike's chest, but Sotile was getting bored, which he announced by saying,

"You fools! I'm still here, and that last bit of life force has given me enough to fulfill my desire!" That comment had everyone confused, but not for long as he continued by saying,

"Using the life force I have obtained from 100 powerful individuals, I shall flood Tellius in a torrent of ocean! You all shall now join the rest of the world in a watery grave!" Boyd didn't believe him, but Kurth assured the Reaver that there's no telling what Gurugant can do now. Ike growled, looked at Zihark, and said,

"Let's do it."

"For my brother!" Yelled Zihark. The pair of them synchronized their actions as they charged forward. As they raised their swords, Alondite glowed silver, and Ragnell glowed gold. They brought them down on Gurugant, and with quite a bit of effort the sword snapped in two. Before long after, Sotile woke up from his trance, looked around, and asked,

"What have I gotten myself into this time?"

"More than you know, foolish human." Said a deep, dark voice. Sotile looked around some more before saying,

"What? That's the voice that's been inside my head!" Suddenly, the broken sword glowed pitch-black, and a pitch-black beam shot out at Sotile, engulfing him and immobilizing him. He screamed, but that scream slowly died down as his body disappeared. Gurugant created a body for itself using the body it absorbed, and it repaired itself before completing its creation by inserting itself length-wise into an indent on the creature's chest. The monster's eyes glowed, and it roared. Zihark scoffed at the sight of it, saying,

"Gurugant expects to beat us with such a repulsive deformity?" In response to that comment, the monster roared and Gurugant glowed. As the sword glowed black, the monster's left arm glowed as well, and then it pounded the ground with its fist, sending out a powerful black beam. Zihark took to the sky using his spiritual energy, but the beam followed him there. Zihark growled, and used Alondite's beam attack as a counter. They collided, but Gurugant's beam wasn't even slowed down by Alondite's. Zihark continued to fly around before getting an idea. He quickly got Gurugant's monster between himself and the beam, but as the beam hit the creature, it was just absorbed by the sword. Zihark groaned, though he realized he should have known it wouldn't be that easy. Getting some distance from the beast, Zihark began thinking of other possibilities. Looking at Ike, he felt stupid for forgetting what his brother told him. Flying over to Ike, the Trueblade said to him,

"Come on Ike, we need to finish this now! So we need to do another synchronized attack." Ike instantly agreed, and the two of them got their respective weapons ready again. Looking at each other, Ike and Zihark started running toward the creature at the same time, synchronizing their actions as before. When the weapons were poised, they glowed, and then the warriors brought them down on Gurugant's creation. Energy sparked from the collision, but it wasn't enough, as proven by the monster when it batted them both away. They landed on their backs, and shortly after, Gurugant started preparing for another attack. Ike cursed under his breath as he used Ragnell as a sort of lever to help him stand. He helped Zihark up, and got out of the way just in time for the beam to miss. Growling again, Ike asked,

"What more is there that we can do?" Zihark thought for a moment, and then looked at Ike. Smiling, he extended his sword arm, holding Alondite out to Ragnell's sole wielder. Ike looked at Zihark for a moment before asking,

"What?"

"Only you can wield Ragnell. Use Alondite with your other hand. That way, the two swords will be at their peak. Only you can finish this Ike. Do it for everyone!" Explained Zihark. Ike thought for a moment, and then agreed with the Trueblade. He took Alondite in his free hand, and it and Ragnell started pulsing. After a few pulses, they glowed vibrantly, and jolts of brilliant energy shot between them. Looking at them in awe, he soon smiled before looking at the beast and saying,

"Ironic, isn't it? That the rivalry between my father and the greatest servant of your original master would give me the tools needed to end this very battle? Now, come on Gurugant. Let's finish this!" Gurugant's monster roared again, and the sword glowed black, more intensely than before. Suddenly, in each of the monster's hands, a large sword appeared. The two swords glowed black, and the monster slammed them down, creating a huge black beam. Ike slashed the air simultaneously with Alondite and Ragnell, creating a huge beam that was a mix of Alondite's silver and Ragnell's gold. The two collided, and caused each other to disperse. They each performed three more beam attacks, somewhat consecutively, and each one from one side cancelled out the respective one from the other side. Ike then ran at the monster, who ran at Ike. They clashed swords, matching each other blow for blow. When one used one kind of slash, the other would use the opposite kind. Try as he might, Ike couldn't seem to break through. In fact, it felt like the monster was overpowering him. Still, he continued to try. After a few more of his attacks that were countered perfectly, Ike jumped back and used both swords for another beam. The monster simply did the same with its swords, but Ike's beam was somehow much more brilliant than it was the other four times he made one with the combined power of the sibling swords. Looking at their position, Ike realized that it was more powerful this time because there was no distance between Alondite and Ragnell. It was a tense moment for all the Greil Mercenaries and their Laguz allies as the beam closed in on the monster. It was the strongest one the two swords could make. Would it be enough or not? Just then, Ike noticed something. Gurugant had said that it had life force from 100 strong people, yet it wasn't glowing any more than when it had 99. He looked at Zet, and bore a serious yet thoughtful expression. Looking back at Gurugant and its creation, he realized that the beam had broken through the monster's defensive position, but it wasn't powerful enough to go any farther. Thinking hard, Ike decided to go for it. Running forward, he jumped into the energy blaze, and as he did so, literally everyone asked,

"What're you doing?!" Ike believed in his strength, however, and as he approached the end of the beam, he sliced through it to get through free from harm, and then he brought the swords down, and once again they were right next to each other. This time, however, instead of bringing them down on the ground, he brought them down on Gurugant, the sword embedded in the monster's chest that was controlling it. As the swords made contact with Gurugant, the sword in the monster's chest released a dark mist. Ike's sibling swords, however, released a brilliant light that caused the mist to dissipate. The light then spread to Gurugant, and then the same light expanded, forming cracks on the body Gurugant made. The body broke into pieces, and those pieces then crumbled and blew away in a sudden breeze. Gurugant was left behind, and the light caused cracks to form in the blade. It was split almost in half lengthwise, and then those two long pieces broke into chunks. Following that, the light faded, and so did the presence of evil around the sword. The pieces were still floating, but not for long. Soon they were tossed as if by some invisible force; tossed into the distance, toward the sea. Satisfied with the extent of Gurugant's destruction, Ike turned to everyone who had accompanied him, and being the kind of person he is, he felt that some of them helped more than they realized. He smiled and gave a thumbs up, and then approached his many companions.


	13. Epilogue

Epilogue

"Okay everyone, it's done." Said Ike. Everyone cheered at the fall of one of the most dangerous foes they had ever faced. Still, all was not in perfect order. Upon locating Lethe, Ike made his way to her to find her in mourning. There, in front of her, was the body of Zet. He didn't move from the spot where he had taken the blow from Gurugant, and there was a grotesque gash diagonally across his torso, shredded open by the rough hit he had taken from the sword. Lethe hugged the still body, not caring how it looked. She had never been able to while Zet was alive. Things were just too hectic. She sniffled, and softly said,

"You saved me again...."

"Lethe...?" Asked Ike. Lethe looked at Ike, and ran into his embrace, looking for some kind of comfort.

"Ike! He-he always looked out for me, even when he didn't seem to be. He never wanted any of this. Oh, it's all my fault!"

"Lethe, I'm sorry but we can't do anything to change what has happened." Said Ike, trying to comfort the catgirl. It wasn't working however, but she managed to hold together.

A few days later...

It was now the day of the funeral, but one of the attendants to the dead body noticed something odd.

"Commander Ike! There is something I think you need to see!" Ike was there almost immediately, and upon observation of Zet's body, said,

"What? Nothing's changed!"

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong. Look closer." Advised the attendant. Ike did so, and noticed what was so unusual. Smiling, he said to himself,

"So I was right. He is alive." Suddenly he bolted from the room, looking for Lethe. In an attempt to get her attention, he yelled,

"The funeral's cancelled!" In an excited voice. Lethe heard Ike almost immediately, but thought she must have been hearing things. Ike almost bumped into the catgirl, but managed to stop.

"Sorry, I was looking for you Lethe. I ordered the cancellation of the funeral." Lethe was confused now.

"Let me explain. I was going to have it continue as normal, until one of the attendants called me over to the body to look at something. I couldn't believe my eyes! Lethe he's breathing!" Now Lethe felt insulted.

"Ike, stop. That's impossible, you're just using my connections to try to make me feel better."

"But Lethe I-" Started Ike.

"No Ike, you're lying! I-I know you are!" Yelled Lethe, in tears now, Ike crossed his arms, and asked,

"How?"

"What?" Asked Lethe.

"How do you know?" Questioned Ike.

"Ike, that's enough! You're making me feel worse!" She started off in the direction of Zet.

"There is absolutely no way that Zet is-" Started Lethe.

"Good morning pretty kitty." Said a voice. Lethe looked over into the room where she was headed, the body wasn't there. It was then that a hand put itself firmly yet gently on the catgirl's shoulder. She turned to face...Zet. He was up and walking around, the wound he had was now a big scar, nothing more. Zet smiled at Lethe, and asked,

"Did you miss me, sweet stuff? I hope I didn't have you too worried." Lethe was already hugging the archer, and boldly asked,

"How did you survive? I saw you stop moving! I saw the attack hit you!"

"Boy, it sure was hairy, but by adjusting the position of my body in a certain way, I was able to save all my vitals. After that, I was able to slow all of my functions almost to a stop. I just couldn't risk being hit again while in that condition, so I had to fake death. I'm so sorry I worried you, can you forgive me?" Asked Zet.

"Yes, of course I can. You know that. I'm just glad you're okay." Said Lethe. Ike smiled, and after wiping a tear from his face, turned and walked away. Zet saw this, and let Lethe go for now, chasing after Ike.

"IKE!!!" Hearing his name, Ike stopped and looked at Zet.

"Yes? What's wrong?" He asked the archer, wiping away more tears.

"Come on man! Pull it together! Listen, as much as Lethe wants me to, I can't be with her. It would be...wrong." Said Zet.

"Why? Because you're a Branded?" Asked Ike.

"How...how did you know?" Asked Zet, now very shocked

"I just know. Leave it at that. Listen, I really think Lethe could care less what you are." Said Ike.

"You say that now. What about when she finds out? What then?" Asked Zet.

"I don't care Zet. How could I? A Laguz can tell sooner than a Beorc when they've found love." Said Lethe. Zet sighed, and hugged Lethe again. Ike was about to leave when he was stopped by Lethe calling his name.

"What now?" Asked Ike.

"Ike, where are you going?" Questioned Lethe.

"I've got a job to do, you know that." Said Ike. Lethe sighed, and said,

"Right...."

"What's on your mind Lethe?" Asked Ike as he approached. Lethe gulped, and nervously said,

"I was hoping you might stay in Gallia."

"Lethe, I can't. What would the public think?" Asked Ike.

"Ike, you're a hero to them! I think they would welcome you like they would one of their own." Said Lethe.

"Lethe...more importantly, I don't know if I can abandon my group like that. They're my family." Explained Ike. Titania was still around, unknown to Ike, and she approached the mercenary leader, tapping his shoulder. Ike looked behind him, and saw the deputy commander.

"Hello, Titania."

"Greetings Ike. I heard that you're struggling with the decision of whether to stay here or return to the mercenaries. If it's the mercenaries keeping you tied to Crimea, then I can take over command with your permission." Explained Titania.

"I would feel good if you were at the head, but...." Said Ike.

"But...?" Asked Titania.

"What about Soren? What would he think. I'm the only real friend he has." Said Ike.

"Uhhh, he can live in Gallia if he wants. After all, he's considered a hero as well. I doubt the Gallians would show hostility to him. I know Skrimir really looks up to him." Explained Lethe.

"Skrimir...what happened to him anyway? So he was just unconscious?" Asked Ike.

"Yeah, he came around shortly after you and Zihark broke Gurugant." Explained Lethe

"He did? Good." Said Titania. Lethe cleared her throat, and asked,

"So will you stay?"

"Sure, why not." Said Ike, though he wasn't as sure as he could be.

"So is it decided?" Asked Titania. Ike nodded, and with that Titania took her leave. Ike sighed as he saw Titania off.

"What have I gotten myself into now?" He asked himself. Lethe was confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Eh, never mind. It's probably just a matter of getting used to a new life style." Said Ike, starting to feel better.

"Well, we should inform the king of your decision. He's going to want to know." Said Lethe.

"Of course, let's go." Said Ike. He and Lethe started off in the direction of the palace, but Zet felt like something bad was going to happen. He didn't know when, but he could feel it in his bones. He was in such deep thought that Ike had to start dragging him to wake him up.

King Caineghis approved of Ike's decision to live in Gallia, and 4 years later, Soren was living there as well. Surprised as he was, Soren was relieved to not have insults piled onto him. Everything seemed okay, but one thing was far from okay. At the very location where this all started, the west shore of Gallia, a pitch-black glow shone around metal pieces of a familiar design.

Well, that ends this story, but not THE story. A sequel is inevitable, as the ending depicted. I don't know how long it will be until the sequel is started, but we'll see what happens.


End file.
